Ranger Revolution
by yellownotebook2
Summary: For years, a top secret organization has kept the Ranger suits securely hidden in facilities throughout the galaxy, believing their powers too great to be used in modern times. Now, a mysterious man has hired a young thief to steal these suits for reasons unknown. When a new team of Rangers is needed to combat this entity, old heroes are called upon to assist in their training.
1. Going Silver

Kit Carpenter entered the sixth floor of the building just as he had at all the previous locations - quietly and carefully. Sliding his way through the small ventilation vent and landing at the floor below, he thought that this may be his easiest mission yet.

A master thief, a skill incredibly valued by many and completely looked down upon by plenty more, had never proved too fulfilling a life for the young man. Though it was great to never have to worry about money or material items, possessing them felt hollow and meaningless when they were simply taken from others. The feeling that he somehow didn't deserve the items had always weighed on the back of his mind, no matter what.

The last month had been different. The items Kit sought out and stole were completely unique. Far and away more valuable than anything else he had stolen for himself, the man's employer paid a high price for each of the items thus far. This time would be no exception, he knew. If anything, his target today was worth as much - or more - than any of the previous.

Slipping the small pack off of his back and onto the floor, he unzipped it and quickly removed the items hidden inside. First, a small hand-held blade blaster - simple, but effective. Secondly, and most importantly, the belt-mountable HoloHide that had helped him on so many previous occasions. Kit quickly clipped the device to his belt buckle and flipped its power switch into the 'Activate' position. After blinking in and out of existence for a couple of short seconds - something that would give those unfamiliar with the device a brief moment of terror - the holographic disguise solidified around him.

Concealing his all black body suit, the hologram covered it exactly as he had programmed it to. The dark navy blue outfit worn by the staff of this building was fairly plain. A military-style button up shirt and matching pants, with black combat boots not unlike those that he was truly wearing beneath the disguise. He knew that his own physical features would be hidden as well. His thin, freckled face would appear much older and rounder to those around him. The thin scar going over his left eye would be concealed, as would his notably platinum blonde hair. To anyone that remained a proper distance away, he would look to be an average middle-aged balding man, thick around the waist but just dangerous-looking enough to fit in with the other men in this floor. He had specifically added a comically large tuft of white hair just behind his right ear.

Kit stowed the empty pack back into the air vent, sliding it's removed cover back into place to better cover his tracks. As he holstered his blade blaster, he made sure to disengage it's safety with a quick flip of the thumb. Depending on how the next several minutes were to pan out, he may need to utilize the weapon very quickly. His disguise would work only at a distance. Anyone within a couple of feet of the young man would notice that something was not quite right about his appearance. If the device functioned perfectly, he would have had no need to spend several cramped minutes crawling through the air ducts.

A quick check of his watch startled the man into action. He only had a couple of short minutes before he was to meet the extraction team on the other side of the building. Though almost everything about his employer was a mystery to him, one thing was not - they were always on time.

Exiting the room, the thief found himself face-to-hologrammed face with two employees almost immediately. Dressed in the same navy blue outfits, but equipped with large, automatic-firing blasters, they appeared to have saved the big guns for this floor.

Kit smiled. Despite the brisk pace he had to jump into in order to avoid getting too close to the men, their presence did have a positive side. Their heavy weaponry and stone-chiseled faces told him that he was undoubtedly in the right place. The type of blasters they carried were usually reserved for high-level military combat - or security agents for something very, very important.

The young man knew these weapons well. In just the last three weeks of working for his employer, he had dodged, evaded, or otherwise befuddled dozens of these type of men. He had stolen items much like the one he was seeking today from three different planets and just as many independent space-station outposts. His employer had definitely done his research on the whereabouts of the things he desired - something he should have invested more time into doing about his hired hand.

The man - Graves, as he had requested to be called - thought that Kit had no idea what the items were actually for. Keeping most of his employees in the dark, particularly those that handled them, was the best way to prevent them from getting power-hungry and attempting to keep them for themselves.

Kit, however, was not your ordinary hired henchman. The high price he was being paid for these missions, along with the incredibly high security put into place around these items, had compelled the young man to do some research of his own. What he had found out had cost him greatly, but the amount of power at his disposal was worth any amount of money. He had done nothing with the information - yet - but it would always remain on his mind going forward.

"Hey! What the - "

The thief stopped and quickly turned around. He briefly made eye contact with the guard that had spoken. The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. He saw the look of surprise and anger in the man's eyes and knew the proverbial jig was up. Watching the other man's finger slam into the blaster's trigger instinctively, Kit's left hand flew towards his own weapon.

The guard's rifle made a clicking sound that bounced off of the marble floor and echoed throughout the hallway loudly. Almost in the same second, Kit's own blaster roared to life. A pulsing red bolt of energy shot forward, burning through the atmosphere with an intense crackle. Before his target could even consider what was happening, he was lifted off his feet and sent sailing backwards. He crashed to the floor roughly, smoke billowing from his chest. It quickly was apparent that the man was dead.

Kit stepped forward, slipping the blade blaster back into it's holster and disarming the fallen guard. After briefly looking it over, he clicked the safety off before finally breathing again. That safety switch was the only reason he was still alive, he realized. He did not know how the man had seemed to sneak up on him so silently. The young man quietly chastised himself for being so careless and broke into a run towards his destination.

Almost immediately, the roar of automatic blaster fire tore through the hall. The spot where Kit had been standing just a second earlier was completely obliterated. Careful not to slow his running pace, the thief looked over his shoulder and saw several guards quickly approaching from behind. Two of them were crouched and readjusting their weapons for a more accurate - and more lethal - shot.

The young man knew that engaging the guards at this point would just kill any remaining time he had left to get his item and to meet at the rendezvous point. He didn't chance a glance at his watch once again, but he knew he already was pushing his time limit. Fortunately, his target lie just ahead.

"Blast him!"

Kit heard a woman's voice behind him yelling with authority. It seemed he was now dealing with middle management. He pointed his stolen blaster forward and squeezed the trigger. The metal door at the end of the hallway was no match for the firepower in his hand. In mere seconds, the rapid-firing green bolts reduced the doorway to a smoking pile of gravelly stones. Still not considering he should slow down, the thief leaped through the smoke and into the dim room ahead.

Blaster fire roared behind him. He heard the bolts both ricochet off of and tear into the walls outside. Kit found himself in a small office-looking room. Though it didn't look it, it seemed to actually feel a little different than it's holographic training simulation had. He couldn't quite put his finger on what had changed, however. The same stone walls, designed to look both modern and classic at the same time. The large window that overlooked the city skyline - it currently blanketed in the black stillness of night.

Leaping behind the big oak desk in the center of the room, Kit began tearing through it's drawers as the blasts outside drew ever closer. Panic washed over him as drawer after drawer failed to yield what he was searching for. Scrambling to quickly dump each of them out instead of carefully searching through them, the contents of the desk drawers settled at his feet. Assorted stylus pens, touch screen tablets, and even actual paper files began to pile up. On a normal occasion, he would have stopped and reviewed some of the information he was uncovering. This was no normal occasion, though.

"Stop right th-"

Kit barely looked up as he lifted the heavy hand cannon and blasted the life out of the first guard to reach him. Down to the last drawer, he was ready to leave the office behind and attempt an escape without just as the item clunked to the floor.

He almost laughed aloud. The bulky, old-school cell phone looked - no, was - absolutely ancient. Having taken them for granted for so long, the archaic device put the marvels of modern technology into perspective for the man. He grabbed the thing and tucked it into an empty cargo pocket, firing the heavy blaster without aim through the doorway and into the hallway beyond. The group of guards had reached the room and dodged his shots easily, separating to the small space on either side of the doorway out in the hall, sending their own blasts in reply to his. A small silver canister hit the floor quietly just in front of the desk, and a giant explosion rocked the room.

For several long, screaming seconds, the young man lay broken against the far wall. The well-built desk had saved his life, but had been reduced to splinters in the process. The security team seemed to be working carefully, and he no longer had any place to hide from them.

The ringing in Kit's ears was accompanied by short blasts of blackness in his vision - his sense of sight leaving him along with his consciousness. The man realized he had hit his head in the blast - hard. Warm blood ran down the back of his neck. If he didn't do something very soon, he would lose consciousness completely - and then likely his life, as well.

The man had never been more happy to have done his research before a mission. Though he knew that Gloom would not be happy about it, a quick change of plans was required.

As blackness started easing in on the sides of his vision, Kit flipped the ancient-looking device open and quickly tapped out a four-digit number.

2-5-8-0

A couple of security team members finally decided it was their time and stepped into the office. Through the smokey grenade haze, it took them a couple of seconds too long to spot the outline of their target.

A pale silver light filled the room, and Kit found himself lifted from the ground by some unknown force. His holographic disguise blinked completely out of existence, and his stolen rifle was ripped from his hand as both of his arms were lifted straight out to his sides.

The guards pointed their blasters at the thief, now covered completely by the silvery light, and began to fire. Kit winced instinctively as dozens of green bolts sped towards him. Just as he thought he would be killed, the projectiles were sent flying in every direction except for his own.

Kit felt completely engulfed by warmth. His muscles seemed to grow to the point of nearly exploding as they filled with white hot power. The strange sensation that the blood on the back of his head was running backwards, back into the wound, was something he had never felt before. A dark shield seemed to lower in front of his eyes, dimming his surroundings. Bright, computerized text lit up centimeters in front of his eyes, providing him a barrage of analytical information about his surroundings while somehow still not inhibiting his vision. It took a couple of blinks to realize that he had not passed out and he was not dreaming.

The young man raised his left hand in front of his face and was startled to see that it was now covered in a pristine white glove. He had known what to expect the device to do for him, but he had no idea how it would actually look and feel once it was done. A quick glance down at his body further proved the reality of the situation.

He was the Silver Space Ranger. The first one in, according to his research, several decades. Like the rest of the ranger-related items, the DigiMorpher had been missing for nearly fifteen years. Like many of those same items, he had just stolen it.

"What the hell!?"

Another guard burst into the room. Unlike his cohorts, he didn't seem to be bothered by the young man's change of appearance. He fired his blaster almost at random, moving it from right to left and sending bolts of energy glancing all around the cramped stone office

Kit reacted instantly, without considering his options or even formulating a plan. Somehow, his mind felt like it had grown just like his muscles seemed to have. His somehow just knew what needed to be done, and was completely confident that it would work.

"Let's do this!"

The young man's voice sounded deeper and more sure than he ever recalled it sounding previously. He ducked down and somehow avoided the lightning-quick blasts coming towards him. At the same time, he slid forward and raised his left knee. As it connected with the security guard's abdomen, the man was sent flying backwards and screamed in pain. He smashed into the remaining stone around the door frame and it crushed beneath the force of his momentum. The guard was sent back into the hallway he had came from, knocking down two of his allies as he flew.

Kit did not stop there. As soon as his knee sent the first man flying, the Silver warrior straightened his right knee and formed a powerful spinning kick. The remaining three guardsmen blocking the doorway were sent into the wall to their right, yelping in pain.

The young man paused for only a second to take in the situation at hand. Despite his feeling of immense power, he knew that he could eventually be overwhelmed by the security team. Again, with an actual plan as something of an after thought, he turned and leaped out of the window behind him. He extended his arms at his sides as he and the glass were sent falling out into the night.

An engine roared, and tires squealed. A riderless motorcycle lifted off from the ground so far below him. As ranger and cycle quickly moved towards each other, the two sides of the vehicle lifted up to form a flat, horizontal board. The wheels ascended into the bottom of the craft as it began powering upward incredibly fast. The clean white boots on Kit's feet landed on the board and instantly felt securely attached. Just a second later, both ranger and glider sailed off into the night.


	2. The Black

They had underestimated Kit yet again.

After paying the man large sums of money to plan and perform break-ins at some of the most high-profile military and police targets in the galaxy, they had still assumed he would not notice the man planted outside his doorway.

A rail-thin man in a stocking cap sat on a bench just a few feet from the entrance to Kit's building. The man had all the appearances of being a criminal. His long, greasy black hair hung around his shoulders, untamed. His face was covered in two-day old stubble. He pretended to be reading something intently on a view screen. Most avid readers generally didn't dress in large military surplus overcoats and brand new combat boots, though. Nor did they generally prefer to read on outdoor city benches in the middle of a rain shower - at night, even.

The man's head faced the view screen in his hand, but his beady dark eyes darted right to left and then back again. They seemed to be fighting to escape his skull - struggling to see everything around him despite their location. Occasionally, he would pretend to scratch at his ear and press a button on his communications headset. Kit could not tell what the man was mumbling, but his imagination filled in the gaps for him.

It had been two hours since he had lift the GuardCorp building. He had taken a few minutes to fly the glider around. For some reason, flying the thing seemed to come intuitively to him - it was as if he had been doing it his entire life. He knew as soon as he had jumped through the window that he would need to leave KO-35 as soon as possible. The stealth-designed sky cruiser had been waiting for him on the opposite side of the building. Whoever had been piloting it had undoubtedly seen their thief flying off with the very item he was supposed to be delivering to them.

They had probably known then, he figured. He had looped back around and caught sight of the military-grade transport departing the area at a high rate of speed. He did not know for certain how this would impact his working relationship with Graves, but all signs were pointing to negatively.

Usually, the young man had liked the quiet neighborhood where he lived when on KO-35. Far and away from the busy business or entertainment districts, it was an area in which wheeled vehicles were still used as often - or more - than their flying counterparts. The beautiful cobblestone sidewalks and roadways were regularly maintained. The old-school aesthetics of the area generally attracted an older, quieter generation. When seeking a break from alarm systems and automatic weapon fire, it was an ideal spot to live. Any sort of traffic or noisy distraction would have been great at this moment, though.

Kit slipped forward from his hiding spot across the street. Crouching down behind a cleaning droid, now asleep and recharging for the evening, he fumbled the Blade Blaster out of it's holster. Making sure that it's safety was still clicked into the 'Off' position, the young man chanced a glance around the side of the rectangle-shaped droid.

The man somehow looked even more antsy, now. He had set his view screen down on the bench next to him and was now very obviously looking back and forth and up and down. His right arm sat crossed across him body, firmly holding on to a handheld blaster pistol in his left coat pocket. It was impossible to know what kind of blaster it was, but it was very likely not set to only stun.

Perhaps someone else was keeping an eye on his street, Kit thought. Maybe they had seen him coming and notified this man to expect him - soon. Maybe reinforcements were just around the corner..

The young man did not any more motivation beyond this thought. He double-checked to make sure the DigiMorpher was secure in his utility belt and then whirled around the small robot, still in the crouched position. His right boot dragged slightly on the pavement, producing a dull scraping sound that was the only warning his adversary received. Just as the man, startled, turned to look in Kit's direction, the thief squeezed the trigger on his blaster.

The moisture in the air sizzled as two red beams of light shot from the end of the blaster. They impacted the man's left shoulder almost instantly, and in his panic he pulled the trigger on his own weapon. As he slumped to the ground, two stray bolts of energy exploded from his coat pocket.

Once it was clear that the man was not going to move, Kit crossed the road slowly and knelt at the man's side. The place where the double laser blasts had hit was still smoking and steaming in the cold rain. The man still moved, slightly, and a small groaning sound came from his mouth. The thief quickly grabbed the man's weapon and threw it across the street.

Kit hurried forward, propelled by a rush of adrenaline and fear. He ducked into the entry way of his building and smashed into the door, nearly knocking it off of it's hinges. Although he had demorphed, he still felt that he had been transformed. The rush of energy and explosion of strength in his muscles had not left with the suit. Somehow, he felt that the power of the suit was still connected to him. As if both he and the silvery suit now shared the Power Ranger persona.

As he raced up the stairs, Kit wondered exactly where he would go. He had been in a constant state of movement throughout his entire life. He oddly felt that this was what he was made to do. Race home to pack quickly and evacuate. He remembered the gut-wrenching feeling of coming home to find his family's possessions thrown outside when he was a child. He also remembered when the event had become so usual that it had brought no feelings from him at all. As an adult, being on the run was habitual. With the questionable legality of his occupation going hand in hand with the shady lifestyle, he had roamed one side of the galaxy to the other. At times, it seemed the man had explored every single seedy nook and cranny.

Coming to his door way, he already had made his decision. He had heard that Centaur B had beautiful summer seasons, and he hadn't really had a chance to explore the planet thoroughly. His one trip there had been cut very short by a botched theft in the space port, and he had had to leave the place in quite a hurry. He knew the credits he had acquired in just his last couple of jobs could last him several lifetimes on a poor planet like Centaur B.

It was also unlikely that their were any Ranger suits on the planet, he thought with a small smile.

Kit punched in the appropriate code when he reached his front door and waited for the metal door to slide away. He had thought about kicking this door in, but thought better of it. If he were being followed, he figured, he may as well leave as many obstacles between himself his follower.

Entering his darkened apartment, the man took a moment to listen to the various noises it provided. He could hear the gentle hum of his air conditioning unit, along with the small whirring his old-model Synthetron made in his kitchen. Hearing nothing else, he continued onward into his bed room.

Kit, while being habitually predisposed to running, was also very fond of preparing to run. A small wooden box underneath his bed was stuffed almost to the brim with the small disc-style currency the galaxy wide government now used. Next to it, a backpack was already packed with a fresh change of clothes and a few personal hygiene items. He grabbed the box and emptied some of his credits into the back pack, before tossing the rest back under his bed. In his profession, you learned very quickly that carrying an excessive amount of credits was only asking to be left with none at all, after a robbery.

It had almost began to feel like they were not coming for them at all. Kit had paused to request a sandwich from his Synthetron. Having heard nothing but the usual sounds of his quiet building, he thought a quick snack at home would be smarter than risking one on the way to the space port.

For a second, it seemed as if an earthquake was starting. The walls vibrated loudly and the wind outside seemed to grow twice as loud. Digital picture frames began to fall, crashing from their perches on tables and wall mounts to the floor below.

"Well, it's probably time to get going.."

Kit set the remains of his sandwich down on the counter. The old-style, ceramic plate began to vibrate horribly. The young man moved quickly towards the doorway.

The sound Kit heard next could best be described as his building screaming in pain. The wall in his living room crumpled like a crushed aluminum can as the jagged front end of a military cruiser pushed through it. The cruiser pulled back, and then smashed into the same spot again. The entire building gave a sickening lurch at this, and Kit could hear screams from the other apartments.

The third smash caused several support beams in the walls to suddenly groan, and the entire floor of his building seemed to shift. It stopped after just a few inches, but the sounds made it clear that it was barely holding on. Kit was thrown backwards into his kitchen, severely denting a metal cupboard door with the force of his landing.

The air ship backed up, and the young man saw that it was same one he had left behind at the GuardCorp building. The blue ion thrusters on it's underside, a common piece of technology for cruisers in these times, were supplemented with gigantic, knife-sharp propeller blades mounted to either side of the vehicle. The wind force they exerted just hovering near the gaping hole in his wall sent what few possessions he had within his home twisting and spiraling around. The cruiser seemed to be almost completely covered in weaponry. The tail, top, front, and either propeller had at least one cannon mounted to them. Every single one them seemed trained on Kit.

The man wondered if his escape at GuardCorp had just been a fluke. He knew that using the DigiMorpher then had been the only reason he had survived. He hoped that it would be enough to get him out of this situation, as well.

"Here goes nothing.."

Kit quickly withdrew the ancient-looking cellphone and tapped out the appropriate numbers. As he became engulfed once again in a brilliant silvery light, the cruiser outside prepared itself for another ram.

He could feel the warmth enveloping him, just like the first time. To his surprise, the boost in strength he had felt previously returned - seeming to actually add additional muscles to those that it had brought earlier. In a tenth of a second that seemed to stretch endlessly, he saw pieces of silver and golden light flying at his body. As each one impacted without a touch, it formed into a piece of his suit. Mid-transformation, Kit began to run towards the hole in his apartment wall.

Cruiser and building met with another sickening crunch - but this time a third variable was involved. Kit - The Silver Space Ranger - flung his body into the vehicle as it smashed into the building. The floor beneath his apartment buckled and fell, but it no longer mattered to the young thief - he was already impacting the side of the military vehicle, fist first.

The machine was rocked onto it's right side at the force of his punch. The Ranger grabbed at a small outreaching piece of landing gear and held on, throwing several more lightning-quick punches into the side of the vehicle. Within four of them, his fist had broken through.

The pilot began tossing his ship around vigorously, trying to force his unwanted passenger off. The vehicle was bucked from the left into a hard right as the pilot attempted to smash the Silver Ranger into his own apartment building.

After making two or three holes, Kit realized that the vehicle was too heavily-armored to punch his way into. Just as it rolled back towards the gaping hole in what was left of his building, the man pressed his legs against the landing gear and pushed himself upwards, hard. His untested Ranger strength sent him flying up the side of the cruiser. His gloved fingers fought for some sort of handhold as he felt himself lift from the craft. There seemed to be nothing to slow his ascent, and the young man sailed feet first into one of the craft's top-mounted propellers.

Kit had flinched, rolling his body into the fetal position. Something that he had never thought about - but was now becoming a big issue to him - was the intense human urge to protect himself. A powerfully armored suit did not take away one's instinct to avoid danger.

He felt the propeller blade smash into his back and thought for sure he would be sliced in half. Even as the machine roared and faltered and his body was sent glancing off towards the ground, he thought he was surely a dead man. For a second, he wondered how many pieces they would have to pick up to assemble his body for his funeral. Realistically, there would probably be no funeral. Kit didn't exactly have much in the way of friends or family.

The Silver Ranger absolutely shattered the roadway when he made impact. Cobblestone was kicked up all around him, and he found himself laying in the crater his body had created. Above him, the military cruiser rolled onto it's side straight into his apartment building. It felt as if the whole planet shook with the impact.

The building roared and collapsed in on itself, ejecting rubble and dust high into the air. A blast of debris exploded from the lower-level windows and doorways, pelting the Ranger with huge chunks of rock and steel.

Kit let out a small whimper as he realized what had happened. Pieces of his home - and the home to many others - rained down on him in burning, crunching snowflakes of ash. In the distance, what seemed like a thousand sirens screamed at the night.

Getting up and dusting himself off, Kit tried to steady his spinning head. If there were just one person alive in the building, he knew that he needed to save them. He had never been a hero, but in this situation he knew that it was his duty. _He_ had brought the air cruiser to the apartment building. _He_ was the reason it had tore the place open. Then, _he_ had caused it to fall into the building itself. Guilt weld up inside him and he felt the burning, acidic taste of vomit creeping up his esophagus.

As he started to limp his way towards the remains of the building, the young man heard something behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that another, smaller cruiser had just landed not far from his crater.

"Help, over here!" Kit yelled and waved a dirty gloved hand in the air. He turned around to face the vehicle and saw a dark figure quickly approaching. At least the emergency services had arrived quickly. Hopefully they could get in there and start saving people right away.

The dim orange light of the flaming building reflected off of the figure's outfit in front of him, revealing him just a second too late. The young man didn't even have the chance to stop waving before the Black Ranger was upon him.

First, a powerful fist to the helmeted face. Even covered in armor, the punch felt like a train had smashed into Kit's nose. He would have been sent sailing backwards if the other Ranger hadn't caught his right shoulder and drawn him into his knee first, lifting the young man several feet upwards.

It was only then that reality seemed to catch up with Kit's spinning head. As the other Ranger drew back the familiar black-and-white-diamond-design glove of his left hand to perform another devastating punch, Kit ducked and plowed forward with one of his own. His fist impacted the other man's helmet in the center of his visor - right between the two silver tusks. The Black Ranger stumbled backwards briefly, giving his Silver counterpart time to collect himself.

"You're going to beat me up with the toy I stole for you?" The young man seemed to recover exponentially quicker inside the Ranger suit. Already, it seemed as if his aches and pains from just moments ago were vanishing. Kit felt a seething hate rise up in him. He did not know who he was facing, or which of their suits had the advantage. He did not care. He could still hear the cries of the innocent people inside the collapsing building behind him.

"I think Silver is a much better look, personally. Super Silverizer!" The words flowed out from Kit's mouth as if he had been involved in a thousand battles before. He held up his left hand and it briefly flashed a bright blue color. When the light was gone, his side arm was in his hand.

The man in the classic Black Ranger armor leaped forward with another punch, just as Kit thumbed the blade release on his new weapon. Stepping forward and using the man's momentum against him, the young Ranger sliced his weapon across the other man's chest. A trail of sparks erupted, and the Black Ranger was sent flying backwards.

Kit did not intend to quit while he was ahead. Further fueled by his anger, he ran to meet the man as he crash landed in the rubble. Swinging the Silverizer blade above his head, the thief let out a loud yell as he brought the blade down towards his enemy.

The Black Ranger was no longer playing games. As the blade swept towards him, he merely rolled out of it's way. So quickly that it looked as he if he had teleported. The Silverizer hit nothing but air and rock, and the Black Ranger rolled to his feet and then smoothly brought a punch directly to Kit's chest.

The young man lost his grip on his weapon and it clattered to the ground. He started to slump over and fall to the pavement when the other Ranger reached forward and grabbed the right side of his helmet, silently using his head to raise him back into a standing position. His gloved fingers were spread wide and holding on to the helmet tightly. His hand seemed impossibly large, as big as Kit's head. The man cocked back and delivered another powerful blow directly to the front of the Silver helmet. His grip on the side of the helmet remained, though the force behind his punch tried to send the Silver Ranger flying.

Kit had never known why people used the term "seeing stars" until this moment precisely. His vision doubled and bright yellow trails crossed it. The edges grew more and more dim as the other man delivered a second punch to the front of his helmet. The thief began to panic. His hands grabbed at the other man's on his helmet, struggling to loosen his grip. He felt his body shutting down, felt his limbs going limp. His gloved hands slipped and slid against the Black Ranger's.

The other man pulled back and delivered a third massive punch to the front of Kit's helmet. This time, a large crack darted across his view screen. The statistics and battle information on the display blinked on and off as the unit seemed to lose power. The young man tried to mumble a surrender as his knees gave out. His vision was now only a small window into reality - and even it was closing quickly.

Kit somehow heard the crack of the punch shattering the front of his helmet before he saw it coming. The order of things did not matter much any more, he realized, and Kit's consciousness finally surrendered and gave way to nothingness. His whole world was bathed in black.


	3. Oliver

An old man stared at a small glass screen on his office desk. He wore a striking white tuxedo with a neon green dress shirt beneath it. He adjusted his bright red pocket square and scratched his nails along his wooden desk nervously as dance music gently pulsed outside of his office. Just under it, the sounds of people dancing and having fun could be heard. There had been numerous offers to the man to completely soundproof his office, but he had turned them all down. Tommy Oliver loved to hear people having a good time.

"Sir, are you still there?"

The face on the screen snapped back into focus, and Tommy Oliver realized he had momentarily become lost in thought.

"Yes, I am." The man spoke quietly, scratching at his grey beard and turning his attention back to the man he was talking to. A well-built tough-looking man in his early forties was displayed on the small screen before him. The man's navy blue shirt seemed to disheveled and the sound of angry conversation could be heard in the background.

"That's the fifth one in the last month, Mr. Oliver. I think we need to start putting together a plan to ensure the safety of the others." The man's tone betrayed that he was losing his patience with the man. He had been pushing the older man for tightened security since the first suit was stolen. If his warnings had been heeded then, he figured, he would likely not be in the position he was in now. The position of having to notify the families of several men that they would never see their father, husband, or son again. Worse yet, he would looked like a failure.

Mr. Oliver stared back blankly for a moment. His styled and gelled pale white hair and his fashionable glasses made him look as if he was trying to be younger than he really was. His wrinkles and vanishing hair line completely ruined any chances he may have had at disguising it, though - he was old. Despite this, the man still seemed to have a youthful energy burning inside of his eyes. They twinkled as he considered his options quietly.

"I understand, Officer Galaga. I don't like this at all, but it may be time to authorize the operation." Tommy set his jaw and gripped the arm rest of his chair tightly. He knew that Galaga had been looking for any excuse to authorize Operation Revolution for years. The man almost seemed to have pursued his job solely to be in the position to oversee the operation if it were ever utilized.

"Thank you, To- Sir." Galaga's face was obviously flushed as he struggled to contain his excitement. He had half a mind to turn and yell to the men behind him. As they worked to tend to their fallen allies, he thought perhaps the exciting news could help them press on. No, he realized quickly, they were not nearly as interested in Revolution as he was. They probably wouldn't even understand it's true importance at all.

"I will begin the operation immediately, Mr. Oliver." The officer did not want to give his the man any more time to change his mind. One of his men must have picked up on the conversation, because he now noticed that all of the soldiers in the room with him and gone completely silent. They were all likely wondering if they may be chosen as one of the five.

Galaga turned and exited the room. He heard the small buzz of excited conversation begin as soon as he stepped into the hallway. He continued to remain as calm and composed as possible, holding the view screen out in front of him so that he could stay on camera.

"No. There is one more thing I want to try, Officer." Tommy had stood and was pacing the plush carpet in his office. Dark purple paint coated the walls, making the large office feel quite small - even a bit claustrophobic. There were two cushy chairs and a couch in front of his desk near the door - all a dark plum color, with gold trim. He turned around and looked at the abstract painting behind his desk thoughtfully.

"But sir. We have already lost lives, and likely will lose more. How many more men must die before we do something?" Galaga did not even attempt to hide the contempt in his voice. He didn't truly care about the death of a few trained soldiers. They knew what they had gotten themselves into when they had signed up for their jobs. The Officer knew, though, that as the man in charge of the operation, he would have the absolute final say as to who was or wasn't allowed on the Revo team. He could almost feel the power beating through his veins already.

"That's an order, Galaga. I understand, probably more than anyone, the value of the items and lives lost. I don't intend to let anyone else die." The facade was up. Tommy also made no attempt at masking his true feelings behind pleasantries. The Officer was a good man and a strong solider. That did not make him of completely good character, though. Tommy trusted him to make the right decisions when and if the proper time came. That did not mean he was particular eager to put him in the proper time or position, however.

"I think we can handle this without going to extremes." Mr. Oliver held his right up in front of the picture on his wall. A small red dot shot forth from the center of his painting, drawing itself along his open palm for a second before blinking out of existence. With a quiet click, the painting on the wall slid to it's left, exposing a deep multi-shelved storage unit hidden in the wall behind it.

Tommy had long since lost faith in ever finding the right people for a team of Rangers ever again. Mistake after mistake had plagued him years earlier, when he had first been put in full control of the organization. He could not help but feel more than a little responsible for the problems he suddenly began encountering. How had someone that had been so good as a Ranger been so bad at choosing the right people for the job? He shivered slightly as he thought back to the last team before he shut the program down. Two of the trainees had been killed earlier on. Two if their team mates had been responsible for their deaths. He and the remaining Ranger had pursued the murderers for a long, long time. The had battled the men on several planets and even in the big, empty blackness of space. Many innocent lives had been taken. Too many.

"You remain on KO-35, Galaga. Continue to keep Operation Revolution a secret. I'm going to take this guy down myself, and bring the suits home." Tommy ended the call before the other man could reply to him. The tiredness behind his words could not be hidden. The former Ranger had been involved in far more battles than any other. He knew that had gotten very lucky. He also knew that every time he donned the armor of a Power Ranger he was taking a huge risk that he would not emerge from it alive.

Tommy reached into the storage space in his wall, sliding his hands gently along the second shelf and the items on it. He let it pass softly over the the wrist-mounted Zeonizer before resting on the Turbo Morpher set. The man considered them for a second, but then moved on. He would always feel an intense bond with his Red Ranger suits. Some of his most notable battles took place while wearing these suits, while standing next to some of his favorite allies. They had simply just always felt too plain for the warrior. Tommy had always been a fan of flashy things, and his other suits provided him with more than enough flash.

"Computer, Initiate call with the council." The man's hand drifted to the middle two items on the second shelf - two Power Coins and a golden Power Morpher. As the tones indicated that his call was about to be picked up, Tommy grabbed the items and slid them into an inside pocket of his suit.

Ninjor's face was the first to appear on-screen. Tommy instantly smiled brightly. One of his oldest friends, Ninjor always knew how to put things in perspective for the man. The screen flashed briefly through the other council members - Auric, The Conqueror, the Blue Senturion, Alpha 7, the Magna Defender, and Billy Cranston.

Tommy frowned for a quick second. He had been expecting more of his former team mates to be available. Where was Jason?

"Tommy Oliver. How's it going, buddy?"

Billy had definitely aged since the last time his friend had seen him. His hair had now completely grayed, and his glasses seemed to have gotten twice as thick. Every year, he seemed to grow more and more into the wise-beyond-his-years look he had had since childhood.

"Not so great, my man." Tommy did not know exactly how to explain the situation he had thus far kept secret from the rest of his closest allies. His friends were spread out across the entire galaxy. Each of them had their own set of issues they were dealing with, but they all had one thing in common - they all cared more about keeping the galaxy and it's inhabitants safe from harm than anything else in their lives. They each were doing their own part in helping make the galaxy a better place. The former White Ranger had avoided bringing them into the current situation because he hadn't want to distract them from their own works. He knew now that this had been a mistake. He slid the painting on his wall back into it's original place with a click, and turned towards his desk with his view screen in hand once again.

"Do you think we could all meet in person?" The man smiled nervously. He knew they would realize instantly that a big issue was at hand. The entire council hadn't been in one spot in several, several years. Since the day they decided to put the Rangers to rest, Tommy realized.

"Of course. I'm on my way." Billy vanished from the screen.

"I shall see you very soon!" Ninjor's booming voice caused the speaker on Tommy's phone to break up slightly.

"I am on the way, Tommy!" Alpha 7's voice had not changed at all since the first day they had met.

"I will head to your location as soon as I can." Auric, too, disappeared from the screen.

"Be safe, sir. We are on the way as well!" Tommy remembered suddenly that the Blue Senturion and the Magna Defender were on a mission together on Gratha. He sighed as they vanished from his screen. He hoped that their mission was not being completely sacrificed to come to his aide.

The former ranger sat back down at his desk and leaned back in his chair. For a moment, he could relax. He had taken the correct next steps. Now, all he had was a brief wait while his friends traveled. Given the importance they all placed on their council duties, they would all likely arrive by the early evening. Explaining his situation to the men would be tough, but so would his future battle with the mysterious thief. At least, he thought to himself warmly, they would be facing the future together.


	4. The Captain

Captain Arkadian started replaying the video as soon at it stopped playing. The group of Officers and soldiers that had started watching the screen with her at had long since wandered off. They were not interested in re-watching someone break through their defenses and steal a high-value device from them multiple times. She was.

The woman stood in a conference-room-turned-command-center that was buzzing with activity. The long, rectangular room was usually brightly lit and decorated with various abstract paintings draw in maroon and a deep forest green. The floor-to-ceiling windows would, on a regular evening, provide a mesmerizing view of the city outside.

Traffic was particular intense in this neighborhood - the sky would be alight with more than just the usual glow of neon lights. The headlamps and brake lights of many thousands of traveling sky cruisers would illuminate every inch of the night until deep into the next morning.

At this point, though, the windows were completely blacked out. Thick walls of concrete and steel had lowered over them. Their massive thickness ate into the space, making the room seem claustrophobic. The numerous security team members packed together inside only exasperated this feeling.

Arkadian sat at the end of the table. Her communication head set lay discarded at her feet, it's plastic casing twisted and shattered - the latest victim of the captain's anger. While everyone else had been monitoring the situation on a presentation-style wall hologram, the captain was the only one in the room with her own device. The small, personalized view screen sat propped up on it's own kickstand.

The man - more of a boy, really - was quite thin. His body did not seem solid enough to manage carrying a weapon as big as their blasters, but somehow he even managed to shoot one. She watched him slip nimbly from an open air vent and to the floor. He dug through a backpack and removed his disguise and his sidearm. She paused the video just before he activated the HoloHide. She continued to stare him over, trying to take in every detail of his physical body. Though he looked to be a few years younger than her, there was something faintly attractive about the young man. Something about his quick, precise movements was mesmerizing. After a few more seconds, she knew that she had his image memorized. She intended to see the life leave that body the next time she saw it.

The woman was tall and well-built. Despite her pretty face, bright red hair and stunning aqua-blue eyes, she still looked like she was ready to fight someone at any moment. She wore a robotic-looking body suit that was silvery white with pale blue accents. It hugged her frame tightly, leaving little to the imagination - the formfitting design was perfect for her fighting style. She had long-ago stopped wearing her silver overcoat. Those that worked around the woman knew better than to risk a glance at her. Military-grade armor, similar in design to the tech used in Ranger suits, made up the outfit.

"M'am." Her personal assistant, Rex, knew to speak quietly to his boss when she was doing something such as this. A large, menacing looking man dressed in all black, the man looked like a hired assassin than a hired assistant. His jet black hair was styled and locked in to perfection. He wore a long black overcoat coat and a pair of sunglasses that had view screens built on the lenses. Information was constantly passing before his eyes. It was his job to decide which of it was valuable enough to pass on to the Captain or not.

"I overheard Galaga speaking on the phone with someone. He mentioned the operation." Rex's voice was deep and had a slight Russian accent. It had been years since he had seen his home country - or even his home planet - but it still stuck with him, somehow.

The change in Arkadian's mood was palpable. She had clearly been stressed and anxious previously, seemingly ready to strangle any number of her subordinates. Now this was taken to a whole new level. She turned to glare at Rex for a few seconds. He was so good about taking her frustrations that were intended for others that she had long ago lost the self control to stop herself.

"Galaga is a fool if he thinks he will ever get his hands on a Ranger suit. He's an even bigger fool for not realizing how transparent his plans are." Arkadian turned her eyes back to the view screen and carefully considered the blonde thief for another moment.

"If the man upstairs is considering authorizing the operation, we don't have much time. We need to find this -" At this, she tapped the thief's face on the screen loudly, "boy. Before Galaga gets what he wants."

Rex only gazed back at the woman calmly. He wondered how he had let himself get so tangled in someone else's mess. He had been the perfect student in the academy. Kept his head down, made the right friends and avoided the wrong ones. Just getting in to the academy has been a dream realized, and he had always tried to make the absolute most of it. Though not as bright as some others, he had been well-rounded and dedicated. This had paid off in his quick ascension from regular soldier to personal assistant. It was his job to keep his boss informed and protected at all times. When he had sworn his life to this cause he had had no idea what all it would include. He had not considered how deep the dark recesses of human's could go, and what swearing yourself to another could mean for your own future. He did not know if he would have done it again, if given the opportunity for change.

"Have them prepare my ship while I go deal with Galaga." Arkadian shut the view screen down with a double tap and smacked the thing across the table with a backhand, for good measure.

"Your ship? Shouldn't we see if they have found any signs of where the thief went? He couldn't have gone far. Particularly in this city." Rex walked over and picked up the view screen calmly, turning it over in his hands and looking for signs of damage. There would be no way for the man they were after to escape the city any time soon, Rex knew. Not in this traffic.

"We aren't going after the boy, we are going to go where he is going next. What is the closest planet with packages hidden on it?" At this point, Captain Arkadian didn't even know why she bothered with their code words. The entire security force and half the city and likely seen the man use one of their "hidden packages" to morph into a Power Ranger and jump out of a window.

Her assistant seemed genuinely stumped for a moment. Perhaps waiting for the man to come to them could be a good idea, he mused. But other packages? Though he was privy to much more information than the average solider at his rank, he never pressed his boss for specifics. He had heard a rumor that at least a couple of suits were being kept on the _Mark II_ version of the Astro Megaship, but it was out travelling in deep space currently. The high-security prison in orbit around their planet had also been a rumored hiding spot. As far as the other planets and bases in space were concerned, it was all just more rumors and whispers between soldiers.

"Earth, you moron! They will be going to Earth next!" The captain responded to his confused look before he had had the opportunity to say anything. The woman rolled her eyes. Rex was the best assistant she had ever had, but that wasn't saying much. What he had in strength and ability he sometime severely lacked in brain power. It didn't really matter to her, however. Lots of muscles and little brain made him a perfect tool for her. She bolted quickly into a standing position and headed for the door, pushing a soldier or two out of the way as she went.

Rex's anger flared for just a second. Although he was quite used to the woman's personality, he could not stop himself from getting heated occasionally. Especially when she insulted his intelligence. He lifted a gloved hand to his right ear and pressed on his communication device.

"Rex here. We need _The Harbinger_ prepped for takeoff. Inform the pilot that our destination will be Earth. No additional support needed for this trip, it will only be the Captain and myself, along with the pilot."

An affirmative answered was mumbled through the static and into his ear, and the man followed in Arkadian's footsteps and headed out the door. If they were going to go to battle, he would need to pick up some weapons in the armory.

Captain Arkadian was on sixth the floor, looking sullen in the blackened, smelly remains of the office. Many of her subordinates were still there, hard at work. The remains of the deceased had been taken elsewhere. Now, the men seemed most concerned with finding any clues. For some reason, they seemed very fascinated with finding finger prints. Handheld scanners flashed red and blue lasers up and down the floor and the desk remains. One man endlessly turned splinters of oak over and over in his hands. Another swept up the pieces of glasses that had not flown out of the window with the thief. They appeared to be quite obviously trying to look busy in front of her.

The woman crossed her arms, refusing to shiver. It was amazing, to her, that the armor she wore could keep out so many lethal things - lasers, bullets, blades - but was completely powerless to keep the cold out. Looking over the others in the room, she suddenly a moment of satisfaction - several of the men were shivering. The discomfort of others was something that genuinely made her feel good.

"I just don't think you understand, _Dia_." Officer Galaga spoke the woman's name like he was spitting out a mouthful of poison.

The Captain reacted just as he had hoped she would. Her eyes momentarily grew wide with anger, and her face reddened. She raised her right hand as if she intended to hit the man, but instead ran it through her shoulder-length red hair. Before she could say anything to reply, he continued.

"I think it's in our best interest to find this man as soon as possible, before he leaves KO-35. Me and my men are more than willing to do that. But without something .. _more_ , we will have a very difficult time detaining him now." Galaga's eyes twinkled with anticipation. If he couldn't get the operation authorized right now, he would just need to find another way to get himself one of those suits. Combating a morphed Power Ranger would be difficult without a suit of their own - capturing him would likely be impossible. This was one of the biggest reasons that they had been outlawed and hidden away.

"You listen closely, Galaga. You will never - " Arkadian paused, allowing much of the fierceness to drain from her voice. She did not need to let on that she knew what she knew. Not yet. Soon, she would have the man who had broken their defenses tonight - and the suit that he had taken. At that point in time, she could make the decision on what needed to be done next. It was much easier to decide how to move forward when all of the power was in your hands.

"That type of decision - the authorization to use a Power Morpher - is not something the board members take _lightly_. Right now, we need to focus on finding the package - and then bringing it back here. If this cannot be accomplished by you and your team, without the use of a suit, then we simply need to find someone else for the job." The woman spoke calmly, despite the fiery rage towards the Officer that was bubbling within.

"The best thing to do right now is remain here. Do not make any moves without first notifying me. I am going to Earth. There is a meeting at GuardCorp HQ that I simply _cannot_ miss." Dia lied, confidently. The hurt look that crossed Galaga's face told her that he had bought it - the look he gave whenever someone else got to invited to something important.

Without saying any more, the Captain turned and walked through the destroyed door frame. The soldiers over-analyzing scraps stopped and saluted the woman habitually, before pretending to get back to work. Officer Galaga turned towards the destroyed window without saluting. He stared out at the broken shards of glass and the dark city beyond, and he briefly considered jumping out.


	5. The Council

"I just don't understand how you could keep this from us!" Ninjor pounded his fists angrily on the large table before him and looked around at the rest of the council members. All of them, except for Mr. Oliver himself, seemed to agree.

The meeting seemed to be going even more poorly than Tommy had anticipated.

"We need to put together a plan - Now they have five morphers. If they know how to use them, this could be a big problem." Billy seemed to be the least upset of the group. Instead of dwelling on his anger, he had already seemed to move on and begin trying to think up a solution to the situation. He had a small view screen out and fired up, already scrolling through various pieces of information.

The former Blue Ranger, like Tommy, was definitely showing his age. Of all of the original Rangers, though, Billy seemed to look the most like his old self. His glasses had already been thick as a teen - now, their size was simply ridiculous. His faced had grown quite wrinkled and began to droop as gravity took its toll on him. His hair, once thick and brown, was now only a small wispy tuft of white cotton on top of an otherwise bald head. The man looked very tired, but spoke as if he were still the same heroic teen he had once been.

In the lower-level conference room beneath the open main area of his club, the group had assembled a little after eleven-o'clock. Ninjor had arrived first, with Billy right on his heels. By the time Tommy had escorted them down into the meeting area, the rest had showed up on the main level of the club.

The all were seated at a long table. The two former Rangers had glasses of water and view screens in front of them, the rest only empty table. The Magna Defender had gotten up and started pacing just moments after sitting down, and had not stopped since.

"We must figure out where they will strike next, and we must stop them. The only way to retrieve the stolen Morphers is to do it together." The lights on the Senturion's helmet flashed back and forth as he was clearly deep in thought. Deep down, he felt a little relieved. His time stationed on Gratha had heeded very little information. He and the Defender had been sent there to search for Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger - one of just a few who had failed to turn in their Morphers when asked to. The Magna Defender - Mike, as he was once known - was a loyal friend, and a fierce warrior. He was not, however, very lively company. The man seemed to prefer to spend all of his free time alone, and even after months together he and the Senturion had had very few actual conversations.

"A few of the Morphers are left here on Earth. Some of them are at GuardCorp Headquarters, and some of them -" Tommy reached into his tuxedo and withdrew the golden Power Morpher, turning it over in his hands, "- Are here with me."

The others weren't exactly surprised to see it. Having been tasked with rounding up the final few Morphers for GuardCorp, they had taken steps to ensure that they could call upon Ranger power in the future if it was desperately needed. Each of them had chosen at least one Morpher to hide themselves, with Tommy receiving all of those that were still connected with him.

The man couldn't quite recall exactly who had which Morpher, but he knew that a couple of them - and their protector - were missing. Jason Scott, Tommy's former team mate and occasional rival, had disagreed with the decision to cooperate with GuardCorp. Feeling that a unified team of Rangers would be the best way to combat a future rise of evil, the man had failed to convince the rest of them. He had taken his pick of Morphers and left, promising the rest of them that they would regret their decision.

Maybe he had been right, Tommy thought to himself. If they hadn't handed many of the Morphers over to GuardCorp, at their request, they likely would not be in the wrong hands now.

"Do we have any idea of who is behind this?" The Magna Defender spoke, seemingly for the first time all evening. He was standing almost back into a corner of the room, as if he could somehow fade away if he managed to avoid the rest of them. His arms were now crossed, and his body was leaned against one wall. He didn't care for all of this talking. Working in teams was still something that the man had a problem with.

Almost two decades earlier, when GuardCorp had classified his own powers in to the "Ranger" category, the Defender had had to make a choice. He was asked to turn in his Morpher and to go back to his life as Mike Corbett. He had spent so much time as the Defender over the years that he had found this a very difficult thing to do. Some of the former Defenders personality had somehow fused with his own, over time, and the call to remain a lone warrior fighting for the good of the galaxy outweighed even his desire to be able to become human ever again.

It had taken several weeks for the council to figure out how to pull it off. Eventually, after Ninjor had came forward with the same type of ancient magic that had restrained the former Defender to the persona, before he had passed the powers on to Mike.

Any trace of humanity was nearly completely gone. The Magna Defender was more machine than man, now. A machine programmed to fight for the good of the galaxy as a whole. To selflessly do battle with evil no matter how dangerous it was.

"Is it possible that the U.A.E. has returned?" Auric had said about as little as the Magna Defender. The eight foot tall robot seemed to be thinking his own plans through. It had been several decades since his Tiki had been discovered on Earth. After a series of battles and eventually being banished by the Impursonator, he had been in hiding for many years. Just as a precaution, he had even avoided the Legendary Battle that most of his allies had participated in. It was his primary focus to ensure that there was always someone fighting for the force of good, even if many of them had been lost in a battle. He sounded concerned. He had always preferred working problems through without violence, if possible. Having dealt with United Alliance of Evil in the past, he knew that no amount of talking could prevent another war if they returned.

"The Dark Specter is gone. There is no way they could have brought that guy back." Billy hoped that the confidence he spoke with made his words more true, "Besides, the rest of the Alliance is in prison. The Super Max prison over KO-35 is the most secure place in the galaxy."

Tommy nodded an affirmative. The prison had already been impossible to break into or out of, before it had been taken over by the Galactic Alliance. Their upgrades had most likely rendered the place impenetrable. There was no reason to worry about the prisoners there, or about the safety of the Morphers that were also kept on the floating space station.

"I personally helped them with the cell designs. There is no way any of our old enemies have escaped." Billy seemed more sure of himself with this statement. He was actually still dressed as he had been so many years previously - in blue jeans and striped blue-and-yellow t-shirt. Over the top of this, he wore a long white lab coat with badges from varying government agencies. Of the whole council, he was the one with the most connections to the current Galactic government, and GuardCorp. He still ran multiple research labs and trades schools for students looking to become part of his field. Despite all of this, his true allegiance was still to the men around him in this room.

"I want to help you." The man reached into his lab coat and pulled out his own Morpher. The power coin inside responded to his touch by giving off a soft, blue glow. Just imagining taking part in another battle made him feel exhausted, but he did not intend to let his friend fight alone.

The group sat quietly for a second, each of them lost in thought. They had no way of determining which Morpher would be gone after next. The did not know what the group that had stolen the others had planned. The only thing they did have was each other.

"Wait, I seem to be sensing something strange!" Alpha had been standing by idly. As more of an honorary member of the group, he usually had very little input on the important matters. He knew that he was part of the team, regardless.

Tommy turned towards his robot friend, concerned. Suddenly, the ground gave a slight shake and an explosion could be heard outside. Instantly, the men around the table stood and glanced around at each other. It seemed that their adversaries had came to them, after all.

Another shake rocked the building, this one bigger than the last. They could hear the frightened screams of the late-night partiers upstairs. Each of the men seemed to move at once.

"Saba, let's do this! It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy cried out as he stood, reaching his right hand towards a seemingly empty spot on the conference room wall. With a crash, the ancient short-sword shattered through the dry wall and flew into it's master's waiting hand.

"It's about time!" The small tiger face on the hilt exclaimed, it's eyes glowing red with long-untouched power. In a flash of blinding light, the man holding the saber was transformed into his alter-ego.

Billy, too, had raised his Morpher into the air at the same time as his teem mate. His arms flew around his body in a complex, rhythmic pattern and then he pointed his Morpher, with both hands on it, out in front of him. Another blast of light filled the room, and the man was now a Power Ranger once again.

A third explosion outside shifted the whole building in it's foundation. They seemed to be getting closer.

"Is that some kind of bomb, or..?" The Blue Ranger looked over to the Magna Defender. He was cut off by the sounds of laser blasts.

"MegaZords. They're here." Tommy answered the other Ranger, already moving towards the room's exit. He gripped his sword tightly as he emerged into a darkened hallway and began running straight up a flight of stairs.

"Wait, Tommy! We will take care of that, you stay here and protect the people!" Ninjor's booming voice echoed in the blackened hallway as he ran to catch up to the White Ranger. The rest of the council followed quickly behind them.

When they emerged at the top of the staircase, they found themselves surrounded by complete pandemonium. People were running in every direction, screaming, and seemed to have no idea what was happening or what was causing it. Another blast hit even closer yet outside, and many in the crowded club room were thrown off of their feet.

The two Rangers reacted instinctively - running forward to the closest people in need and helping them up. Tommy held Saba high over his head for a second. The tiger's small eyes flashed red and a blast of burning hot energy shot into the nearest wall, blasting a hole into it. The lasers remained focused on one particular area and then slowly worked their way up, carving a large gash in the architecture of the building. The new exit allowed the sounds of more explosions to come through, along with the light from them.

"Everyone, just stay calm and make your way to the exits! This place feels like it's going to collapse any time now, so we have to get out of here."

Many adjusted their paths, mid-run, and started heading for the closer, Saba-made exit. Before any one of them had reached it, a figure stepped into the opening.

"Citizens, please remain calm!" The Blue Senturion grasped a large speaker cabinet and corrected how it sat. The people nearest to him screamed and ran away from the large, robotic police officer.

"No one is going anywhere!" The Green Turbo Ranger stepped into the darkened room. The massive Thunder Cannon was in his arms, gently humming with turbo power.

"Tommy! We need to have a chat!" The man yelled over the drone of pulsing electronic music blasting from the speakers.

The White Ranger's weapon was already in his hand. He considered charging the other man, but knew that it was too risky. He knew first-hand the damage that the Thunder Cannon could cause, and there were far too many innocent people around them to take that sort of risk.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Tommy, too, had to yell to be heard over the sound of the music. He glanced over at Billy and the man gave him a nod. He turned to glance the Magna Defender and saw that he, too, had his sword in-hand and ready for battle.

The Turbo Ranger quickly swung his cannon around to face a group of people that were hiding underneath an overturned chair.

"Not so fast, Defender. Any one of you makes a move, and I will vaporize them in a heart beat."

Another figure stepped into the room.

"So nice of you to make a convenient entrance for us, Tommy." The Crimson Thunder Ranger had his Ninja Sword at the ready. Pointing it forward, he slowly began creeping towards the Magna Defender's position.

From outside came the roar of another weapon being fired. Tommy saw, over the men's shoulders, the Crimson Insectizord. Ninjor, expanded and in battle mode, fired a blast from his hand at the rogue MegaZord. Behind him, Auric had also expanded to his full size. A swing of his sword impacted the Insectizord with a terrible scraping sound. It was clear that forces of good had the upper hand over the bug zord.

"Looks like you didn't plan on running into a party. It's time to surrender the Morphers and give it up." Tommy gestured with his hand as he spoke, sliding his blade into it's sheath as a sign of good faith. There was no way the other two Rangers could hope to face down Billy, Ninjor, Auric, The Defender, and himself.

"You underestimate us, old man. You should be the one turning your Morphers over, before someone gets hurt!" The Green Ranger pointed his Thunder Cannon upward and fired a single energy blast into the ceiling. A shower of debris fell, and the multi-colored dance lights blinked out. The music warped and it, too, died out. The men all stood in a completely packed room of silent people.

The Crimson Ranger continued to approach the Defender at a creeping pace, one slow, cautious step at the time. The Defender shifted his stance and prepared for battle.

"Careful! I wasn't joking!" The Turbo Ranger adjusted his aim and and gestured with his weapon once again towards the same crowd of people.

"We don't have time for this! Get 'em, boys!" The Senturion jumped forward suddenly, putting himself between the Green Ranger's cannon and his civilian targets. As he did, he raised the Senturion Synergizer in his right hand and pulled the trigger.

The Turbo Ranger reacted instantly - firing his weapon as well. The cannon roared and a blast of energy shot forward as the Synergizer's blast slammed directly into the Ranger's chest. He was sent rocketing backwards, pulling the trigger once more as he flew and once again when he smashed into the wall behind him. The Senturian reacted to the Thunder Cannon's blast similarly, though more dramatically. It's larger blast seemed to have burned it's way into his right shoulder and exploded, collapsing him to the ground instantly.

One of his aimless shots blasted a hole in the ceiling, and the next hit another wall on the other side of the club. The patrons of the club screamed once again as more debris was shot in their direction, and all of the Rangers - good and bad - reacted immediately.

Tommy did not hesitate. He swept forward, a white-and-gold blur on the darkened dance floor, and met the Green Turbo Ranger as he pulled himself to his feet. The White Ranger disarmed him with a single well-placed kick, sending the Thunder Cannon sliding across the wooden floor. He grabbed Saba and drew the blade from it's sheath and across the Green Ranger's chest. A flurry of sparks shot from the place where blade and armor met, and the Turbo Ranger was once again sent sailing backwards.

While this was happening, the Magna Defender had darted forward and smashed a piece of falling debris from the sky with his sword. The people below it screamed, but were covered in a dusting of fine pebbles instead of large chunks of cement.

While he was busy doing this, the Crimson Ranger gave a powerful swipe of his saber into the Defender's back. The light of more sparks lit the room, and the Defender fell to one knee. He swung his blade around to catch his enemies, and soon they were locked in an intense saber battle.

Billy had made a different choice altogether - he was already approaching the closest group of onlookers.

"It's not safe out here, come with me. We're here to help!" He gestured with his hand to them and after a few seconds of hesitation, the panicked people began to follow him. He hurriedly led them to the door way he and his allies had emerged from. As he pointed out the stairway and told them to descend, he turned and looked for another group to gather.

The White and Green Rangers, meanwhile, were locked in a grappling match over the White Ranger's weapon. They had fought their way back towards the hole that Saba had blasted in the wall earlier. Though he had initially taken the upper hand, Tommy was beginning to get worn down quickly. If Saba didn't have the ability to fly or send a blast of red energy whenever the Turbo Ranger managed to get a hold of him, the White Ranger would have been struck down by his own weapon several times.

The Magna Defender and Crimson Ranger seemed to be on even ground in their own battle. Each swipe or stab from one was generally well-defended and then refuted by the other. The Defender wondered who was beneath the armor. Whoever it was had lots of experience using a bladed weapon.

"Who," The Defender swung his blade down in a particularly powerful overhanded swing, "Are you!?"

The Thunder Ranger dodged, and the floor where he had just been standing was completely devastated by the blow. Burning splinters of wood and chunks of cement were sent flying. The Magna Defender remember that the warriors were not the only ones present.

"I would love to keep this going, but there are too many innocents here. It's over." The man locked swords with the Ranger for a moment and then drew back, quickly bending the hilt of his saber back.

"MAGNA BLASTER!"

His voice roared as he pulled the trigger and his blaster barked in agreement. Several thick blasts of energy were sent point-blank at the Crimson Ranger. The man collapsed backwards, his sword falling to the ground. As his head smashed face-first into destroyed flooring, he began to glow a warm white color.

The Defender did not take any chances. He stepped forward and pushed the barrel of his blaster against the back of the man's head as he demorphed.

When the light cleared, only a human man lay crumpled at the Defender's feet. Dressed in an all-black military-style outfit, the man wore his Thunder Morpher on his right wrist. The Defender bent down and removed it, placing it in a pocket on his belt for safe keeping.

"Great job!" A regular-sized Ninjor had reappeared, entering the same way the rogue Rangers had and patting the Magna Defender on the back.

"We took down his Zord, as well. One more to go.." Ninjor looked across the room and saw the Turbo Ranger had definitely taken the upper hand. He had somehow managed to bog Saba down beneath a pile of debris, and the short-sword had taken to simply insulting the man as his owner was repeatedly hit.

Tommy appeared to be unconscious. His mask and golden shield were visibly damaged as the man in the Green Ranger suit continued to pummel him with a volley of kicks and punches while he lay defenseless.

Ninjor ran forward and delivered a quick punch to the back of the Ranger's helmet. The man somehow stopped himself from going down, and turned to strike the robot humanoid across the face. After a brief back-and-forth of further strikes was exchanged, the Turbo Ranger suddenly dropped down and swept Ninjor's legs out from under him.

"I expected more from the great Tommy Oliver and the all-powerful Ninjor." The man drew his Auto Blaster and shifted it into high-power mode, then pushed it directly to Ninjor's chest.

"Bye bye."

The man pulled the trigger repeatedly.

"No!" The Blue Ranger charged forward from the stairway, power lance in hand.

For a moment it seemed that the Magna Defender was going to charge him as well, but he slumped to the floor at Tommy's side and lifted the White Rangers head up, checking his vitals.

The Turbo Ranger lifted the blaster and fired on Billy as Ninjor lay still. An engine roared and a green desert-equipped utility vehicle smashed through the already large hole in the far wall. The vehicle sped over and screeched to a stop just as Billy reached the Green Ranger.

"Which do you want more, old man? Do get revenge on me, or to help your friends?"

The Rangers stared each other down for a moment, and then the Turbo Ranger stepped aside and pointed to a spot several feet from where they stood. The Blue Senturion lay, blackened and burned, with the occasional spark shooting from the gaping hole in his shoulder.

The Blue Ranger wordlessly dropped his lance to the ground and sunk to Ninjor's side.

The Turbo Ranger ran forward and gathered his own fallen ally as they cared for theirs - dragging him over to his vehicle and throwing him into the back of it. The man gave a few random, final blasts of his Auto Blaster, spreading further destruction and covering the other's in even more debris. He then chucked his weapon into the cockpit of his vehicle and leaped inside, fleeing the scene with the squealing of tires and a cloud of black smoke.

An eerie silence fell over the club as the smoke cleared. There was no sign of Auric anywhere. The Magna Defender was kneeling over a demorphed Tommy Oliver, unconscious and covered in bruises - but living. Billy, too, had deactivated his Ranger armor and was hurriedly typing on his view-screen. Ninjor was a mystery being to him, and he had no idea who to consult with for information

on helping him. Alpha 7 had emerged from the shadows and was gently patting the man on the back as he scrambled for information to aid his friend.

"How could this have happened? Ay yi yi yi..."

Meanwhile, the Blue Senturion's smoking remains lay lifeless, save for the occasional blinking of one of the lights on his chest. After a few moments, the distant sound of sirens could be heard.

The council had been cut in half.


	6. SPASM

Every time Kit opened his eyes, it felt as if someone was smashing a large brick into his face.

He could hear the dampened, but powerful roar of a space craft's engines as it accelerated off of the surface of KO-35. For a moment, a feeling of joy swept through the bottom of his stomach. Perhaps he _had_ made it onto a ship, after all. Maybe the building collapse, the crash, and the savage beating had all been at terrible nightmare.

"I think he's awake."

The woman's sing-song voice conveyed amusement. She sounded young, almost too young to be in the present situation.

Kit mentally wrestled with his eyelids - begging them to open despite the excruciating pain. The cool, blue interior lights of a high-end space shuttle were still too much for the one eye he managed to force open. His left eyelid seemed to _try_ and move, but seemed to be held back by some sort of near-dry liquid. His stomach lurched as he realized that it was most likely his own blood.

It took him a few blinks to get any sort of understanding of his situation. He seemed to be laying across a couple of separate seats. He appeared to be on a shuttle nicer than any he had traveled on before. He was also restrained - one hand was firmly attached to the metal base of a seat. Though he couldn't see her, it seemed from the woman's voice that she was in a bank of seats off on the other side of the ship.

Kit was stilled morphed. He could still feel the raw energy pumping through his arms and legs, though the limbs individually felt stunned and dead. From what he could tell, a large jagged chunk of his helmet was missing from it's left side. He could feel the stale, artificial air cycling through the transport and lightly brushing his bare left cheek. His left eye was burning too badly to feel anything else, but he guessed it was exposed as well.

The young man coughed. His throat felt like sandpaper. It felt at if he had been buried twice and then burned alive, face first. He could feel that the exposed side of his face and sustained heavy damage.

"Yeppers, I would say he's up! Roland!?"

He could feel the young woman slide across several seats to get closer to him, coming to a rest on the seat next to where his head rested. She came into view, her whole upper body hovering over his as she stared blankly for a minute. The woman had long hair that was the blindingly bright pink color of bubblegum. She was wearing what looked to be a military uniform, though it was devoid of any insignia. Her right hand gripped the stock of a blaster that was bigger than her forearm.

"Where... is he?" The thief could barely manage to croak out three words before he was forced to stop. The pain from this effort alone caused tears to well up and run - burning in the various places where his skin was cut open.

He heard a door close to them hiss open, and his hands balled into fists. If it was the man in the Black Ranger suit, he did not intend to let him finish him off without some sort of a fight. Kit laboriously lifted his head up a couple of inches, managing to rotate it just enough to see the door that had just opened. Through it, he could see flashing red landing guide lights.

He started to wonder how long he had been out. Obviously, long enough to be taken to the space port and placed onto a ship. He did not know _where_ they were arriving, but it seemed that their flight was already coming to an end. It seemed like just seconds earlier they had been blasting through the atmosphere of KO-35.

"Welcome to the S.P.A.S.M. - Special Inter-galactic Planetary Alliance Super Max - please follow the guide lights to the proper docking destination. Please note that all vehicles approaching may be searched by I.P.A. forces at any time. Weapons of any kind, along with any unauthorized personnel, are strictly forbidden. All rules are pursuant to intergalactic law - division seven, section eight of the security clause."

The voice came over the loud speaker in the cockpit, which seemed to be right up the hall from the room they were in. It seemed to have been human-designed, but robot spoken.

Kit knew exactly where they were, suddenly. S.P.A.S.M. was the most high-security prison in the galaxy. Home to the worst of the worst, it had been formerly ran by Space Patrol Delta before being taken over by the then-newly-formed I.P.A. Having only committed the most serious crimes - assassination, attempted planetary destruction, and many others - Those that were sentenced to stay in S.P.A.S.M. were never released.

The young man wondered for a second if he might have been arrested. Perhaps in the confusion at his building - in the chaos of it all - someone had misunderstood and thought that _he_ was the cause of all of that destruction. Or, he realized with a sinking feeling, someone had just finally caught up to him about all of the past crimes he had actually committed.

"Why don't you relax there, champ?" The young woman had taken notice of the fists his hands had formed into.

"You've had about enough fight to last you the rest of your life. You also aren't going to accomplish much with _this_ around your wrist." She giggled to herself and tugged at his wrist restraint.

Kit could feel a third presence enter their section of the ship. He struggled to turn his head - just an inch caused a stabbing, burning sensation to run up and down his neck - and see a man approaching. He was wearing an outfit not unlike the woman's. His dark olive skin was pock marked and damaged - some scars more obvious in their origin than others. The man had eyes the color of coal and very short, military-cut hair. He had his own large blaster - his strapped to his back, over his right shoulder. He carried an expensive-looking first aid kit under his arm.

"Oh! Can I do it!? Please!?" The pink-haired woman dramatically jumped to the ground at the man's feet and laced her hands together, pretending to beg.

Without speaking, the man sat down on the vibrating floor of the shuttle and began to dig through his kit. In a second, he seemed to have found what he was looking for - a small bottle of a clear liquid. He dumped a fair bit of the stuff into a cloth handkerchief. Before Kit could even understand what was happening, the cloth was pushed firmly through the opening in his helmet and he instantly could smell a strong, chemical odor.

"Aw. You're no fun." The last thing Kit saw before it all went black again was the woman's disappointed face staring into his.


	7. The Scene

The captain did not know whether to be horrified or pleased. The information was still coming in, but it seemed that the Morpher situation had intensified greatly.

For the first time in several decades, a major attack had occurred on Earth. Two of the four Morphers had been utilized in this attack, which took place in Angel Grove, California - a place not completely unfamiliar with the Rangers or their Zords.

Interestingly, some of the witnesses were stating that the attack had been stopped by another group of Rangers - two of them utilizing MegaZords and an unknown number taking on the attackers in a physical fight.

Arkadian slumped back in her chair, away from the view-screen for a moment. She did not know what to make of the information, really. If the attack had been stopped by other Rangers, did that mean that Operation Revo had been implemented early? Was Galaga being fed old information? The woman knew she shouldn't have relied on someone so incompetent as her direct line to Oliver.

"This is the second time I've had to watch something happen on a screen, after the fact!" She stares straight ahead as she yelled, but Rex was the only other person in the cabin with her.

"It is unfortunate, m'am. But you were right to come here. All non-essential flights off of Earth are grounded for the time being. They will not be able to get passed us again." The man stared out the window to his right. The earth nearly filled the entire thing. They had been forced to remain in orbit while the battle had been taking place down below. The man guessed within a few more minutes they would be cleared to land. The battle had been over for several hours by now, and they were only one of several ships caught mid-landing around the planet. They would have a serious issue if they didn't start getting ships out of the sky soon.

A few hours later, in her suite at GuardCorp headquarters, Arkadian studied herself in the mirror. She had changed from her normal attire into something more formal - a traditional captain's uniform. She had always thought that the dark-gray pant suits they wore to formal events were a little dated, but she intended to make an impression. If the information she received from Galaga was false or out-dated, she would need to put herself in a position to receive better information. She had already scheduled meetings with many of her counterparts here on Earth, and she intended to ask the important questions.

Pinning the last of the multi-colored rank badges to her chest, she walked over and opened the door when her assistant knocked. Rex entered, wearing a similar uniform but without nearly the amount of badges his superior had.

"The transport is waiting on us, m'am." The man stated plainly, patting the holster on his right hip to ensure that he had brought his weapon along. He did not like leaving the heavy-duty blasters behind, but he knew they would never be allowed at the scene. It sounded as if the club had already been pretty badly torn apart, and the Enforcement Officials now in charge of the place were taking no chances. As off-world military officials, their sidearms were seen as a part of the uniform and could not be limited.

"Excellent. Hopefully there is something to be gained from this meeting" The captain removed a dangerous-looking dagger from her bag and slid it into a custom-made sheath on her right leg. She, too, had her pistol, but bladed weapons were her specialty. Entering any potentially dangerous situation without a knife or sword was just something that the woman did not do.

The club, and a vast amount of space surrounding it, was supposed to be secured. Hundreds of GuardCorp officials were on-scene already, many of them high-profile individuals. Something about entering a place where a fight had recently taken place always kept the Captain on edge.

The pair finished up and exited the suite, heading down an ornate hallway that led them to the main atrium of the base. GuardCorp's Earth-based headquarters was a collection of massive pyramid-shaped buildings that looked to be entirely made of glass. The largest of the buildings contained the atrium, the hub of almost all of the activity.

Riding the glass elevator from their floor down to ground level provided Captain Arkadian with a near-perfect view of the vast chamber. Watching the hundreds and hundreds of uniformed officials wander in and out of hallways and rooms, many of them standing on moving walkways or escalators between levels. The bright, mid-morning sun poured in and gave the cavernous room an even more open feel. The woman had always loved spending time in the building. Something about it's design demonstrated the beauty that could be achieved through proper amounts of planning, order, and control.

There was a large tree in the very center of the atrium - a vast, colorful Yggdrasil, the world tree - that was designed, grown, and maintained by some of the galaxy's brightest scientists. It was said to have use beyond just a beautiful decoration, but the Captain had never had anything confirmed for her.

Moments later, they had passed through the ornate marble main doors and were out on the main landing bad. Air ships were swirling in the air all around them - a wonderful, organized chaos of landing and taking off. Rex spoke quietly into a communication device, alerting their pilot that they were ready for him. The ship swooped down just a couple of moments later, and soon enough they were flying quickly to the scene of the battle.

The emergency crews had cordoned off a perimeter six blocks from the club in each direction. Each block seemed to have a different military organization running it, though all of them were divisions of GuardCorp. Temporary airspace restrictions required the pair to be dropped out outside of the perimeter.

The Captain and her assistant made their way through the increasingly classified areas up until they arrived at the club itself. Men in neon orange and green jump suits were standing among the debris, analyzing it with various devices and recording their results. A small group of uniformed officers seemed to be meeting just inside the damaged building.

A large tent, also made of the neon-colored materials, was set up just outside of the building. Designed to function as an independent, mobile hospital and shelter, the tent looked more or less like a gigantic building crafted of bright plastic. Those that had been injured had been kept on-site, as had all witnesses that were still around or could be tracked down.

GuardCorp had not decided what information to release, officially. There were plenty of civilian-shot videos of the event online, and claiming that their had not been a MegaZord there would be extremely difficult to do. Any information that pointed towards Ranger suits being used would imply that GuardCorp had lost control of at least one of them. This truth was not something they wanted advertised. Too many enemies of the organization - politically, criminally, and militarily - were waiting for a sign that they were slipping. Any sign of weakness would surely encourage more anti-GuardCorp sentiment.

"We need to attack someone, and we need to do it soon." Riley Trestle, on paper, was a civilian policy adviser for the corporations top-tier officials. In reality, he was one of the most powerful men involves with GuardCorp's Earth-based operations.

This made him much farther up on the totem pole than Captain Arkadian. The woman hated being around those with more power than her, unless she was using it for her own personal gain. She knew that in order to get to where she wanted to be, she would have to endure many more of these interactions.

"If the public thinks there is someone out there with a Ranger suit, running around in a MegaZord blowing things up, they will want our heads!" The man talked to a group of gathered men and women. All of them had some sort of hollow, meaningless title meant to incite respect from those beneath them - Admiral, General, Lieutenant, Major, Corporal, Captain. There was no ranking or order to the titles, there were only jobs and salaries and pensions. Once you were raised to a certain level within the company, you chose a title that stuck with you throughout your career. The military-style dress and names were more of a formal decoration for a large business.

"And if they knew about the other four that are missing, they would probably _have_ our heads." Admiral Faulkner was a rugged-looking former SWAT captain. His auburn hair - very similar to Arkandian's own at one point - was now going grey at its edges. He was known for always blatantly calling a spade a spade, and never letting those around him sugar-coat a bad situation. He was one of the few people on the Captain's level that she still respected. Most of the others hadn't seen combat in decades. The Captain and Admiral, she thought, could probably take on a squadron or two by themselves. She had always felt that the line between soldier and leader needed to be a thin one.

"That's why we cannot let them find out. We know that a few of our allies have broken their agreements with us. The attack on this building was to gain the Morphers that Tommy Oliver secretly kept here. He and a small group of others used them to battle off the thieves. We have been in contact with him, and he is refusing to cooperate with us. We believe one of our lead scientist, Dr. Cranston, the former blue ranger, is assisting Mr. Oliver." A slight wave of murmurs slipped through the crowd. Billy Cranston had been responsible for many of GuardCorps most important scientific developments over the years, and had been one of the prime advocates for controlling the Ranger suits.

"This gives us two rogue groups to deal with, and a very short time to do so. That is why I have gathered just a few of you here to discuss this. We need to act quickly, and by any means. I need each of you to organize a group of your best men. We are going to assemble strike teams. The leader of each team will be given a Morpher."

The whispers exploded into open conversation as the twenty or so officials realized that they would be in charge of choosing a Power Ranger to run a team for them. Most of the men and women had only ever heard about the powers the Ranger suits possessed. Archived footage had been the closest any of them had come to seeing the powers demonstrated in person. The Ranger suits were seemingly magical - their technology was still leaps ahead of the modern world, and the source of their power still remained a mystery.

It was probably quite a scene, though there was no one from outside the organization there to see it. Nearly two dozen men and women, standing on a half destroyed dance floor while excitedly whispering to each other like school children.

The Captain and her assistant had separated from the main group. Arkadian had been debating who would be on her strike team since the very second the man had mentioned them. She could not believe her luck. Pushed back to the drawing board just the evening before in her plan to gain a Power Morpher, now they were being offered right up! It took her absolutely no time at all to decide that she personally would be leading her own team.

The excitement in the air was put on pause and then increased dramatically by Mr. Trestle.

"Everyone, calm down!" The man was pressing a gloved hand to his ear, obviously receiving some sort of information through his ear piece. His personal security detail was doing the same. A second later, the information was broadcast over the GuardCorps main communication channel.

Blaring loudly from the communication devices on the belts of those working the scene, the message followed Riley's words as he spoke them aloud. The sound came out very similar to a dramatic, robotic echo.

"There has been a security breach at the Super Max Prison Facility. All security officials, code C or above, are to report to the closest base for immediate debriefing."

The chatter in the room completely died as the group considered the news and what the next move was. Arkadian wondered if she should be the first to ask how this would change the mission they had just been discussing, but the thought was cut off.

"You heard the alert! Everyone get to a transport and get back to base!" Mr. Trestle motioned towards the people gathered, turning towards Captain Arkadian as the they began to follow his orders.

"Captain! Come with me."


	8. On The Inside

When Kit woke up, the inside of the ship was dark. His arm was sore - both from the awkward position of his arm and body and from the restraints scratching against his skin.

Skin. He had demorphed. He scrambled, uncomfortably feeling around on the seats and floor around him for the DigiMorpher. The pain in his face was tremendous, and his breath still carried the faint remnants of some sort of bitter chemical.

The only light was dim - the adjustable tint screens seemed to be pulled on all of the windows - and coming in from the docking bay outside. He could hear the distant rumbles of other docking shuttles. He tried to recall, to the best of his knowledge, the size and layout of the Special Planetary Alliance Super Max facility.

It had never been a place he had planned to visit, of course. At some point, though, he had realized that whatever his employer was planning was going to big. When he had brought him the third Morpher - the Green Turbo Morpher, stolen from an unsavory stop on Onyx - and the man had only replied with the name of his next target, Kit had known that there was clearly no end in sight. More than just wanting the suits for their individual power, it seemed clear to the thief that Graves desired something else entirely - a war, it seemed - or something like it.

It was then that Kit had began looking in to _other_ sites where Morphers were likely being kept. Knowing that, as long as he continued to do well, he would eventually be sent to retrieve many more of them. It was through this research that he had acquired some information about S.P.A.S.M.

Originally built a small prison facility for Space Patrol Delta, the place had been purchased and revamped by GuardCorp several decades earlier. Enlarged from a small, five-hundred capacity prison into a vast prison space station that could house an undisclosed number of them, the place had acquired it's new name at this time.

In the following years, nearly every high-level criminal from across the galaxy was brought to be contained there. It was advertised as the most secure location ever created. This had worried Kit, because he had learned something else about the place - there were Morphers kept there.

In the center of the orbiting, moon-sized base, there was a collection of high-security vaults for the extremely rich. GuardCorp themselves utilized some of these vaults to keep many of their Morphers hidden.

The idea of keeping the worst criminals in the galaxy in the same spot as some of the most important items seemed ludicrous to Kit, but this was just another display of the company's confidence in the base.

In all of his exhaustive research, the man had not found out a single route of escape or entrance into the facility. He had been completely stumped, for nearly the first time in his career. The redundant security measures, the classified tech, all of it just made the place seem like it would be impossible to enter. Now he was stuck inside, and restrained, and his chances of escape seemed just as likely.

The place was actually ran by very few living beings. All security and many specific jobs were ran by ARES - Armed Robotic Enforcers. Named after Greek god of war, these robots were essentially assassination droids reprogrammed for law enforcement. Supposedly due to their former programming, the robots employed brutal tactics to keep their prisoners in line - something that GuardCorp said was a much-needed part of their facility. Where most beings would eventually feel some sort of compassion for another, the ARES did not.

These guard droids were armed with several different weapons, in addition to fully usable hands crafted from surgical steel. They mainly utilized arm-mounted energy cannons, but were also known to employ an extendable melee weapon as well as select others. To avoid problems with terrain, they moved solely by employing compact turbo-thrusters in the absence of legs. Covering all of the inter-workings, hand-crafted titanium armor came standard on each of them.

The robots were constructed to look like large, metal versions of a human upper body. Their bodies were long, rectangular pieces of titanium coated in a gun metal grey paint. At the base of this, their twin turbo thrusters were so compact that they were made to look like floating torsos when they moved. Their thick, mechanical arms could be housed inside of their main body or left extended outward. Their robotic "heads" were as fearsome as their violent tactics - a titanium skull, crafted to look like a larger, scarier version of a human's, had glowing red lights housed within each eye socket.

Kit had never had any desire to meet an ARES in person, and he certainly did not intend to in his current state. All in all, escape seemed like an impossible hope. His captors, also, were absolutely delusional for thinking that they would be able to gain access to the Morhers here. A two-person team with a couple of blasters would only amount to a suicide mission in this facility.

He wondered how much information the two of them actually had about where they were. The girl had seemed young, as young or younger than Kit himself, and did not seem like she would be of much use in a battle. The man - Roland, the girl had called him - seemed more dangerous, but still not dangerous enough to contend with the ARES and the security systems built into the largest, most advanced prison in the galaxy.

The docking bay, he recall, almost appeared to be a monstrous cavern drilled into the face of the station. It cut over 15 miles into the base, and docking of ships was common along all of 15 of those miles. Priority docking was in the back and generally reserved for high-level GuardCorp personnel only. Somehow, Kit noticed, his captors had managed to gain entrance to this area. He could see only a couple of other ships in the general area of the one he was restraint within. This much space between ships was not found in the regular docking areas.

"What am I supposed to do now?" The man slumped back in his seat and stretched his legs out in front of him. The DigiMorpher was perhaps the only thing that could help him, at this point - and that was only if he could somehow morph into a Ranger suit that wasn't absolutely destroyed like the Silver one had been.

* * *

Miles away, deep within the crowded A-Block of cells, the two-person team seemed to be doing just fine. Having used false credentials to score a good docking pass, they had also had surprisingly little trouble getting passed security - at first.

Many of the security staff near their particular docking bay were actually human or aquitian. As it was normally politicians, high-ranking members of GuardCorp, or some other form of security team arriving in this area, having an actual living person at check points gave it a much more personal touch.

The first couple of check points had been easy. A quick display of their - false - information, and they were on their way. It seemed that, at this point, they just assumed that everyone with any ill intentions had heard enough about the place to avoid it completely.

At the third check point, things had gone a little differently. The man had used a special device to check their credentials and had determined - truthfully, of course - that they were false. Instead of trying to argue with the man, Roland had simply blasted him several times in the chest. It only took him and his partner a moment to mow down the rest of the guards stationed there, and then they were back on the move - using a small view-screen to guide them through the miles and miles of tunnels.

Graves' team had hacked into the security system for the prison weeks ago, through a very difficult and very expensive process. Now, with a third person monitoring these cameras and relaying their information to the pair, the two were simply avoiding nearly all of the security teams.

The prison was only maintained by a bare minimum of staff at any given time, and most of these were droids. With its hundreds of miles of twisting and turning corridors, it was nearly impossible for the security team to keep up with someone that could monitor their whereabouts as well.

Nico was starting to get restless. Each of them carried a pack with a specific amount of explosives in it. There exit strategy was a fairly simple one: blow their way through whatever was in their way. She had already began toying with the idea of using a bomb or two early. Thinking better of it, the young woman decided it may be better to just mess with some of the inmates.

Each cell was completely exposed to those that were in the corridors. There were no bars in the prison. Instead, a glassy, almost translucent energy field kept the inhabitants restrained to their cells. Roland guessed that some sort of technology was used to distort the prisoners' view, so they likely saw a cloudy or blackened energy field in their own doorway.

Nico, it seemed, had not considered this. She dashed along like a child in a playground, smashing her open palms against random barriers and yelling at the inmates.

The tall man spoke very little, but his partner made up for his silence. Nico's bright pink hair was not the only thing that was loud about her. For nearly their entire walk thus far, her sing-song voiced had echoed throughout the corridors around and ahead of them.

Roland hadn't been particularly fond of bring the young woman along. Any secrecy involved with a project went out the window as soon as she was involved. His boss, for some reason or another, thought differently of the girl. He had insisted that she come along, and he had even given her a Morpher - a privilege that he saved for only a select group of his henchmen.

Either way, the Roland knew how the mission would turn out. They would either succeed, or they wouldn't. If they didn't, and things got bad, he would very likely be injured. To survive, he would very likely have to injure or kill many others. This was nothing new to the man. He was neither interested or repulsed by the idea of violence - it was merely yet another tool with a particular use.

"Hell-Oh! Don't fall asleep on me now!"

The man glanced over at his companion. Nico was glaring at him. Lost in thought, he had forgotten to reply to whatever it is that she had been blathering about.

"I'm sorry, Nico. Let's just stick to the mission, here." Roland had said the same words several dozen times to the girl in just the last few hours. Her excitement at finally being involved in something important was palpable, but this did not make her any less annoying.

"It's like you exist in your open stupid air space up there!" The girl smiled up at him, clearly thinking she had said something extremely clever, "Just because you're ten foot tall doesn't mean you can just ignore the rest of us down here!"

The combination of the absurdly short Nico - standing at just under five feet - and Roland, who was nearing seven feet, made the both of them look all the more ridiculous.

"We should be close to the Tram. Just a few more minutes, Nico." The man spoke calmly, glancing down at his view-screen for specifics. It felt as if he was always in the process of calming his partner down from something.

The Tram station was only about a half a mile ahead of them. Once they arrived there and boarded the correct line, they would be speeding towards the center of the man-made moon - and to the Morphers hidden inside.

As it came into view, the team saw that their guardian had not kept a good enough eye on their path - a half dozen ARES droids had buzzed into formation along the tracks. A few of them had knelt into defensive positions and were point their energy cannons directly at the pair, while the others stood behind them and aimed their own weapons as well.

" _Finally_! Time for some fun!" Before Roland could tell her to be careful, Nico shot forward. Her blaster rifle roared from the second she began moving, slicing through the air between them and the security team.

The cement floor around them began to explode as the team returned fire. Nice's combat boots left the ground as jumped high into the air, continuously pumping further blasts towards the droids. Roland, too, had raised his weapon and was now firing back as he dodged their blasts.

The hallway had opened up into a large cement space. Thick pillars rose from floor-to-ceiling every few dozen feet. A colorful label displaying that they were in A-Block, on route 4, at station D, was marked on each of the pillars. Each of the pair ran forward and slipped behind a different pillar as the droids began to move in closer while firing upon them.

Nico cried out and, for a moment, the older man thought his partner had been hit. Instead, he realized that she had yelled for quite the opposite reason - several paces ahead, the the droid closest to them lost it's head in an explosion of red laser fire and blue flames. The rest of the thing's heavy body collapsed to the cement loudly, it's clanks echoing up into the high ceilings. The other droids merely adjusted their own paths to avoid their fallen team-mate, continuing to press forward without missing a beat.

The tunnel began to rumble as the Tram quickly approached the station. Roland hoped it did not contain reinforcements. Unlike his battle-hungry friend, he did not need excitement or danger to keep him interested in a project. He shifted his rifle in his hand, moving it left to right and blasting away a straight line of cement just in front of the approaching AREs droids. One of his bolts caught a droid in the arm, severing it at where the elbow would be on a human. The robot was spun around by the impact, was sent to the floor. The thing reached out for it's lost arm and picked it up, drawing it closer to it's former position. A smooth wave of seemingly liquid metal seemed to be drawn from the unit's upper arm and extended towards the severed piece. Roland continued firing, but never turned his attention away from the droid he had hit. It seemed to him that thing was..

"They repair themselves! We have to do something different." The man knelt down and began rummaging through his pack as his partner and the security team continued to exchange fire.

"Is that the best you got, you robo-bozos!?" Nico taunted them as she continued to engage, seeming as if she was almost shooting randomly and without aim. Her energy bolts were doing much more damage to the room around them than anything else. Huge chunks of cement were blown from the floor, ceiling, and pillars around them. The approaching AREs droids had to adjust their course to avoid the various damage to the floor that she had caused. It looked almost as if she was trying to keep the droids intact, continuing to allow them to come forward, for some reason. Roland saw the young woman pull her Morpher out of her backpack and knew exactly what was up to.

"Nico, What are you doing!? Not yet!" He knew the girl was excited to utilize Ranger power. Who wouldn't be? It would be a lie to say that he himself did not enjoy the rush of energy and strength that morphing brought with it. If they let on that they had brought Morphers too early, however, the security at the prison would likely change their tactics. An element of surprise and mystery was always key to a successful attack. They were too early on in the mission to give away their secret weapons.

"Put that thing away!" The man chastised the girl as he pulled a single explosive pack from his own bag. Swinging his rifle around the side of the pillar, he began firing again and crouched down, smoothly moving in between two of the cement columns. The explosive in his hand was large metal disc painted jet black. A single red light blinked quickly on the top of it, to show that the weapon was active. Just before ducking behind the second pillar, the man cocked back his right and then launched the explosive disc forward.

"You're such a bore, man!" Nico still fired fiercely from her own position, seemingly unaware of what her partner had done.

The Tram had pulled up to a stop just behind the droids, who had discontinued their approach and instead were fanning out to the sides - forming a half-moon type shape whose inside faced their two enemies.

The pair continued to send a barrage of energy blasts towards the robots. Roland realized that there were six of them again - the two that had been blasted out of commission had repaired themselves fully. The man knew that they would need to act quick in order to move forward.

"Get back!"

Roland yelled, diving out from behind the cover of a pillar while continuing to shoot. Almost instantly, he felt the white hot burn of a blaster bolt slicing through his right leg, just below the knee. The man screamed in pain, but continued to fire his weapon. Taking aim at the explosive disc at the droids feet and pulling the trigger. Before Nico even had time to realize what the man had said, a gigantic wave of flames extended towards them. Even ducked behind their respective pillars, the pair was lifted off of their feet and sent whirling backwards painfully, across the cement.

When the smoke cleared, the only thing that remained of the security droids was a large pile of silver-white metal. Some of it had began to transform into it's liquid like form and was trying to rearrange itself - each droid's repair system trying to pick out it's own pieces among a pile of robot bits.

"Are you okay?" Nico had stood up and was staring at Roland. She seemed concerned, for the first time. Her pink hair and black uniform were covered in bits of blasted cement and ash. Singed by the explosion, her face looked bright red.

"I'm fine, let's get out of here." The man lied. He threw his pack over his shoulder and set off forward, limping heavily but trying his best to ignore the pain. They stepped passed the slowly reassembling droids and moved onto the Tram, careful to close the gates behind them.


	9. Phantoms And Prisoners

Something about hearing them coming, but being unable to do anything, only made matters worse.

They had come just a few minutes after Kit had woken up. Four of the AREs droids - the twisted, mechanical faces of doom - that haunted the prison. They must have preformed some sort of scan on the ship itself and detected that someone else was aboard. Perhaps whatever false information his captors had used to gain entry had finally been revealed as a fraud. Either way, the droids knew exactly where the young man was waiting. He had heard them approaching, the soft buzzing of their thrusters across the concrete floor of the landing terminal, and had hoped that they had a different destination in mind. A second of silence came next, offering a very short amount of hope before they pried open the docking ramp at the base of the ship. The ripping sound of metal almost sounded like the shuttle was crying out as it's belly was ripped open. The whole thing rocked from side to side.

Their lifeless, robotic eyes offered no explanation, no words, as they burst through the door into the cabin that had become his makeshift prison. Light poured in behind them. As Kit struggled to put together words, to form some sort of a story that made sense, the closest of them grabbed him around the chest and ripped him out of his seat. His restraints crackled and burst like a small child's toy, landing uselessly on the floor of the transport.

In a moment, they were outside the ship - two droids and their prisoner - hovering along quietly across the landing bay, headed for parts unknown. The other two droids had remained on board and, from the sounds of it, were completely dismantling the shuttle from the inside. Their giant, metallic hands ripping through the ship's innards seemed to be the only thing creating sound in the entire space station.

Kit was no longer being dragged - he had learned quickly that he would rather cooperate than have his legs shredded by the cement. The droids had not even attempted to restrain his hands or even asked him questions. One gripped each of his arms as they went, and they were plenty confident in their abilities. They didn't seem to care about how had gotten where he was, or what he was doing there. They just knew that he was where he should not have been, and they clearly had some sort of plan to deal with him. He looked himself over, wondering how the the situation could get any worse and beginning to give in to despair. His clothes had been reduced to little more than a matted mess of dried blood and cotton. His pockets and belt were both empty - he had nothing to assist him even slightly.

Kit began to give in to despair. He had usually been very good at maintaining a confident, calm attitude in the face of danger. It was one of his more valuable skills, when it came to his job. He had thought his way out of more than his fair share of sketchy situations. This, however, seemed to be the worst he had ever ran into. He knew that, if they desired, the two security droids holding on to him could tear him into two pieces in a second. He could almost feel the vast, untapped power flowing through the lifeless arms that gripped his own. Why had he even taken the stupid job? He had been doing fine before it, supporting himself well on low-risk jobs. They had been relatively bland, monotonous thefts - but they had never landed him a prisoner aboard the highest-security prison in the galaxy.

A few yards ahead of them, a blast door hissed open. Beyond the opening, a tall shadowy figure stood. Looking more human than his counterparts, but still decidedly machine, the thing seemed to be built from a dark metal that was more the absence of light than any deep shade of black. Four pieces of silver metal - that seemed like a small part of a complex machine - met in the middle of the things chest. Their meeting point was studded with all sorts of blinking lights and switches, but in the very sent seemed to be the most important. A red ruby, still pulsing brightly despite the relative brightness in the corridor around it.

The head of the droid had silver and gold metal outlining a large tinted-black view screen. Kit wondered why a robot would require something like this - a visual window into the world around it. Then he realized what he was looking at.

"The Phantom Ranger." Kit spoke quietly to himself. One of the few Rangers he had heard of, but had never actually seen. Very little information seemed to exist concerning this Ranger, and what people did know only seemed to add to the mystery surrounding it. The thief had thought of this particular Ranger as a myth - a phantom, but only because it did not exist.

The droids, at first, seemed to not notice the man standing before them. In fact, Kit could register no reaction from them at all, until the shadowy figure stepped forward. A strange warping of the air occurred in his right hand. It looked as if the light and air were being bent by some supernatural force and forming into a particular shape. The shape of a blaster - that then solidified and seemed to draw a real existence from within. A second after it appeared, the man lifted the arm and pointed the new weapon directly at them.

"Phantom Blaster!" The voice coming from the thing sounded only slightly robotic - mostly human, really. The voice echoed throughout the vast, open space of the landing bay. A blast of black energy - again, more the absence of light than any particular color reflecting it - shot forward from the end of his weapon.

The two droids stopped and released Kit instantly. As he collapsed to his already-damaged knees with a groan, the two security machines raised both of their arms and took aim at the newcomer before them. Kit could hear the blaster weapons hum as they charged up, and a second later a volley of blue blaster bolts was shot forward.

Just as their own weapons fired, the blast of dark energy coming towards them separated into two. Each blast bent in it's path and smashed into one of the droids. Right after they each finished firing on the man, they were each blown through the air. The head of one of them exploded as the jet-black energy burst made contact with it. The other droid's chest exploded in a rain of black flames as it, too, was caught in the blast's destructive path. The first droid collapsed to the ground and began buzzing in circles - it's thrusters seeming to misfire. The second droid's eyes seemed to fill with the same black energy that had hit it and it, too, fell uselessly to the floor.

Their own blaster fire danced across the floor at the Phantom's feet. Seemingly not bothered, the Ranger did not flinch or make any effort to dodge these attacks. They all seemed to miss him completely, somehow. After the blasts stopped and the droids slumped uselessly to the ground, the Phantom Ranger vanished for a second.

The roaring sounds of blaster fire and tearing metal were beginning to sound all-too familiar to Kit. His close proximity to this particular firefight, though, sent a pain burning through his ears and head. For a moment, when everything was still again, the young man heard nothing but silences - as if his hearing had left him.

The Phantom reappeared just inches in front of the thief. Kit gave a fearful yelp and collapsed backwards, his hearing returning suddenly with a fresh wave of pain.

"It's okay. I am here for you. We have some work to do. But first, you will need this." The Ranger stepped forward and held out his hand. Kit flinched for a second, but when he opened one of his eyes he saw that the Phantom's weapon had been replaced by something else entirely - his DigiMorpher.

"How did you get that? Who are you?" Kit's head began to spin and he realized suddenly that he was very tired. The world in front of him began to swim for a moment, warping and twisting as he struggled to stay conscious.

"Focus, Kit! We don't have much time!" The Phantom Ranger seemed to be trying, poorly, to hold back the annoyance in his voice. One of the droids at his feet crackled into life, opening one metallic hand and trying to grip the man's boot. The mysterious Ranger quickly lifted it and brought the boot back down onto the droid's half-rebuilt face. The thing crunched like little more than a small bug beneath him, and the rest of the droid collapsed yet again.

Kit reached out and took the DigiMorpher from the other man's head, remembering suddenly that the security robots next to him were slowly rebuilding themselves and would be fully-operational killing machines once again, in only a matter of seconds.

The young man did not hesitate any longer. Squeezing the sides of the device and causing it's key cover to flip open, he extended it out and above his head as he quickly punched in the appropriate numbers for the third time.

2-5-8-0

The feeling of alertness and strength hit him before anything else. As his muscles pulsed and seemed to grow, Kit could already feel the soreness in his body begin to dull. As the silvery light once again engulfed him, a small smile cracked across his face. His internal connection to the Silver Ranger suit seemed to grow immensely with each Morph. Now, the inside of the suit felt almost like a welcoming home to him. He was relieved to see that none of the damage the robotic suite had sustained earlier had been permanent.

"You said we don't have much time. Much time for what?" The Silver Ranger sounded much more alert and confident than his human form had.

"The people that brought you here. You know what they are here for. We need to stop them before they can reach the Morphers." The Phantom's blaster had reappeared in his hand and he lifted it up to adjust it's power level as he spoke.

Kit didn't think now would be the best time to ask how the other Ranger knew everything that he knew - the thief's name, who had brought him to the prison, what they had came for - but he did feel a touch of worry. If the man knew the story, the full story, then he had to know that the suit Kit had just activated did not belong to him.

Deciding that it would be better discussed at another time, Kit stepped forward and raised his left hand.

"Super Silverizer!" In a single pulse of bright energy, the Ranger's weapon was in his gloved hand once again. The blaster looked shiny and new, like the armor around him.

"Alright, Phantom," The Silver Ranger stepped forward and stood next to his mysterious partner for a second longer, "You lead the way, let's do this!"

The Phantom Ranger nodded and turned, taking off at a sprint down the corridor he had just emerged from. The Silver Space Ranger followed, closely on his heels.

* * *

The tram struggled to a halt with a series of mechanical shrieks. In the pitch black of the tunnel around it, small blasts of sparks could be seen extending from each side of the tracks as the brakes worked in ways they hadn't in years - if at all.

"This seems right." Nico had began handling the situation must more seriously since they had boarded the train transport. She was standing over the man as he worked the controls, staring at a view-screen in her hand. They had modified their plan, slightly.

Roland thought that it was perhaps his injury that had caused the young woman to take things more seriously. He had used a ripped-off portion of his coat to create a makeshift bandage for the wound, hiding how bad it truly was from his partner. He slowly felt the feeling draining completely from his right leg, and he did not know if standing up was an option for him any longer.

"Okay, it's time." The man pulled the Power Morpher from his belt and held it above his head, still not entirely sure how this whole process worked. It still felt sort of silly, to him - like he was a child playing pretend.

For a split second, the man's vision filled and it seemed as if he was passing through a tube of light at an incredibly fast rate. Then, the strange feeling of warm energy being blasted onto his body. He took a slight step backwards as the first burst hit him square in the chest - a brilliant flash of blue-white light they slowly dulled into the now-familiar black armor. Soon, several more of the blasts were hitting him at a quicker pace, engulfing the rest of his body in the bright light.

"Black Ranger Power!"

When the light cleared, he was back in the powerful Ranger outfit once again. Behind the helmet, the man smiled. The pain in his leg was still there, definitely, but it was far more manageable. He also could already feel the strange healing sensation coming from it - as if the armor was somehow repairing the damaged man beneath it.

"Your turn." The man's voiced sounded deeper and slightly robotic coming through the Ranger helmet. He looked down and clenched his right hand, watching the way the bulging muscles in his arm rippled in response. Roland could understand how someone younger and feistier like Nico would have a hard time resisting the urge to use these powers all of the time. He felt great.

"It's about time!" Nico raised her own silver device above her head and was engulfed in a similar light, for a moment. She threw the device into the air directly in front of her, and it hung there on it's own for a moment, glowing. The device's parts rearranged themselves into that of a small tiger figurine before it flew backwards and was adsorbed by the woman's body.

"Wild Access!"

As Nico became energized and felt her muscles expanding, the figurine in front of her grew and began to crackle with raw energy. In a second, girl and statue became one and her entire body was wrapped in shining, white-and-pink armor. The woman moved her limbs and assumed a karate pose - something that Nico would never have knowledge of on her own - and a blast of white light burst from the back of her head. It surrounded her face for a second before it faded, leaving behind the helmet of the White Wild-Force Ranger.

"Noble Tiger!" The woman slashed her left hand through the air once, the claws embedded in her glove making a sharp, violent sound as they extended out.

The pair looked themselves over for a few more seconds, still coming to terms with Morphing and everything that came with it. They hadn't had very long to train inside the suits before they were given this mission, so the intense feelings of energy and seemingly magical properties of them were still very impressive. When they had finished admiring their newly-armored bodies, they quickly got to work.

Nico turned and exited the control car of the vehicle, moving quickly in to the end of the first passenger car and picking up their unattended bags from a pair of seats. As she darted back, she paused for a second to look over the pair of energy rifles they had discarded on their way in to the control car. She briefly considered taking them - somehow stowing them away within their bags - but then realized that it was not important. If they somehow were involved in a battle and had their powers removed, they would very likely be defeated. She took a moment to pick each blaster up and destroy it - splitting one into two pieces over her right knee and bending the barrel of the other into a pretzel-like shape.

For a moment, the woman simply stood and giggled at her handiwork. The ability to reduce two military-grade weapons to broken, toy-like pieces was something that suited her well. The sound of shattering glasses drew her attention back to the situation at hand, and she sprinted toward the front of the train.

Nico burst into the control car just in time to see Roland's white boot disappear outside of the broken windshield as he climbed into the top of the car. She could actually see where his gloved hands were powerfully gripping the metal on the outside of the vehicle, pulling the man to it's roof one punch after the other.

The Wild Force Ranger leaned her upper body out of the smashed window and turned it so the mouthpiece of her helmet faced upwards.

"Thanks for waiting for me, jerk!" She tossed one of the two backpacks straight upwards, and Roland's gloved hand reached out in a lightning-quick grab to catch it. Slipped her own pack on, quickly, and extended the claws on her right glove.

"Me-Ow!" Nico's sing song voice was also slightly altered by her own Ranger helmet, though not as dramatically as her partner's. In one fluid motion, she stabbed the claws of one hand into the side of the train and whipped the rest of her body out through the shattered windshield. A quick second was spent hanging in the darkness by just one claw, and then she shot upward quickly. Her second glove barely slid across the tram surface to guide her as she twirled onto it's roof smoothly.

Roland had already managed to get two of the explosive packs fixed to the tunnel ceiling. Their usually-steady red lights changed to a much quicker pace as he pressed the arming button on each of them and began running down the length of the train. His partner gave a dramatic, cartoonish purr and took off after the man. While he ran on two booted feet, Nico threw herself down the roof the train with hands and feet. In just a couple of seconds, she had already passed her partner and reached the end of the vehicle.

"Ignite!" The man held up his right glove and spoke into it, guessing approximately where the communicator underneath it would be located. They had somehow managed to find a type of tech that melded perfectly with the Ranger suits, allowing them to utilize communications with individuals outside the base while remaining full Morphed.

The whole tunnel roared as the explosives went off. The place where they had been attached was the first to vanish - an incredible flash of white light that provoked a low rumble from the rest of the tunnel. The tram underneath the spot was blasted into it's own tracks, the top of it crumpling like foil under the incredible pressure. The two Rangers, even in their current state, would likely have been blasted off of their feet if they hadn't crouched down into defensive positions.

The paired had to take a moment to allow their vision to return, once the blinding lights of the initial explosives were over. When they could finally see once again, their was a massive hole blown into the roof of the tunnel. What seemed briefly like a never-ending wave of pulverized cement trickled out of the hole even after the blast, covering much of the decimated tram cars beneath it. A small speckle of light poked through the destruction, only visible because of the complete blackness around them.

"The vault should be two floors up." Roland began slipped his pack back on and began walking towards the destroyed end of the train. His partner dashed forward, cutting him off.

"I got this! Crystal Saber!" Nico's boots left the top of the train as she performed a front flip upwards, seeming to pluck the purple-and-gold hilted saber from the air as she did. She swung the weapon up above her head and sent a blast of white energy from the blade's tip.

Her weapon caused a much smaller explosion than the bombs before it, but it worked. More concrete reinforcement was blown out of the hole, it's surface already blackened by the previous blast. It was followed quickly by pieces of what looked like shattered white tile. Then, only smoke. The tiny pinhole of light had been expanded to several feet white. Through it, the room beyond seemed incredibly bright. No color code be seen, only pristine white.

"That material is what coats the inside of the prison cells. Be careful, we don't know who or what we are dealing with." Roland cautioned the young woman as he pulled his own side arm from it's holster. He pointed the Blade Blaster directly up into the hole and fired two shots. For a moment, there was only the sound of the blasts ricocheting around inside the cell before dying out. Then, a face emerged.

Red-eyes glowed from otherwise empty black sockets in a strange, twisted face. The upper body of a creature seemingly constructed from black stone peered down a them. Glowing, neon-green lines traced across his face. His right shoulder twisted out a couple of feet away from his body - a jagged, lightning-bolt shape. His head, similarly, had sharp points coming off of it where a human's hair would have grown.

"Power Rangers!? I can't even escape you in a prison cell!?"

Ecliptor's voice was to be as twisted as the rest of him. He seemed to be speaking with a mixture of anger and amusement.

"So, what have I done to deserve such a visit?"


	10. Eclipsed

The meters and readers hummed calmly as a pale blue light passed over Ninjor's body. He lay, still, on a large metal table. Machines all around him displayed facts and figures, numbers and stats concerning the humanoid's well-being.

The small chamber was crowded with them - the meters and machines - that had all obviously been set up in a rush. Wires hung loosely from various boxes and screens. The only light in the room was from the stasis field around Ninjor's body.

The tiny room was not intended to for this use. Far from it, the room was meant as little more than a closet. They were in a small underground bunker, constructed decades earlier by Billy. He had put together a highly-protected underground command post to keep some of his experiments in. Not everything he did was approved by the company he worked for. It was here that he had worked on designs for many new upgrades to the Ranger suits and Zords. They had never been utilized, and the place had been sealed for years.

The door quietly clicked up, and the two old Rangers entered the room. Billy wore a fresh lab coat, and his glasses were lit up with holographic images displayed across them. The display kept him informed of all of the important vital signs of his patient.

Tommy limped in behind his friend, on crutches, and leaned against a large piece of equipment to steady himself. He was no longer wearing his suit - he had changed into loose-fitting, comfortable clothes. The battle had been incredibly hard on him, and the recovery didn't seem to be going so well either. He had been in and out of sleep for several hours.

"There has been no change, Tommy. Unless we can find some other way to give him power, he is going to stay like this." Billy was visibly upset, but had now had time to calm down. He adjusted his glasses and stared blankly over Ninjor's seemingly lifeless body. The blackened blast hole still remained in the warrior's chest.

"What could we try? I can't just let him die because I got us into a battle I couldn't handle. I should have fought harder. I should have tried harder." Tommy felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes as he looked over his old mentor. He had seen many of them go, throughout the years, but Ninjor had always remained. He had seemed immortal, too powerful and too important to be defeated. After all, it had been him that had actually minted the very first Power Coins and started this whole thing. Tommy looked over to his ally and hoped he had some sort of idea. Even in the dim blue light, the bruises all across his face were obvious. One cheek appeared to be sunken in - as if the bone underneath had been broken into his face.

"It's not your fault, Tommy. We all joined this because we all wanted to fight for what's right. Each of us knew what we were getting into - what the risks were." Billy put a hand on his friends back, gently. He turned back and faced Ninjor without saying anything more.

Billy knew they had gotten extremely lucky. Arriving at the absolute last possible moment, they had nearly lost Ninjor completely, before hooking him up to the stabilizing equipment that now kept him alive. Thankfully, Tommy had had a transport available to them outside of the club. They had barely had time to pick up their fallen friends before security forces began arriving. The scientist's thoughts drifted back to the innocent people that had been at the battle. He hoped that all of them had made it out okay.

"We should never have left them, man. We are Power Rangers. It's our job to help people." Tommy almost seemed to read his old friend's mind. Holding his crutch between his upper arm and torso, the man clasped his hand over Billy's on his shoulder.

"You aren't Power Rangers. There are no Power Rangers left. I think it's time we came to terms with that." The Magna Defender stood in the doorway they had entered through. He had somehow appeared without making a sound. The man was leaned onto one side of the frame, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He spoke so plainly that it almost seemed as if he was trying to offend.

"We may be too old to fight, but there are still others left out there that can. We aren't the only ones that kept our Morpher." Tommy whirled around, quicker than he should have in his current condition.

"Even if they can't stop these guys, there will be others. Whenever the galaxy is threatened, the Power Rangers are there." Billy added, hopefully. He didn't know if even he actually believed it anymore. With the loss of the Senturion, and the severe damage to Ninjor, it was hard to keep up faith. They had failed to protect their friends, along with the innocent people at the club. The man looked to his old ally and the bruises across his face. They had even failed to protect themselves.

"Ay yi yi, whoever these Rangers are, I hope we see them soon!" Alpha 7 waddled his way into the room, bumping into the Magna Defender awkwardly as he did.

For a moment, the trio looked at their droid companion and smiled, the absurdity of his actions temporarily numbing the panic. It did not last long.

"The Super Max Prison, it's under attack!" The robot turned from one to the other, expecting one of his friends to suddenly have a plan.

"I - I don't know what to do." Tommy did not know if he had ever said and meant the words before. He reached into his pocket and turned his Morpher over in his hand. His first instinct was to go - to fight again. After the toll the last battle took on him and his team, he did not know how much they could really do.

"There are Morphers being kept there. A few of them." Billy whipped his view screen out of a coat pocket and waved his hand over the screen. Instantly, it responded to his touch with a burst of light.

"We are already too late. We would never reach the prison in time." Tommy turned and threw one of his crutches down at his feet. He had never felt so helpless before. He couldn't let more people die because of him. Even if he had to defend the next set of Morphers alone, he vowed, he would. If he had to give his own life to make sure no one else's was lost, so be it.

"I will go." Magna Defender stepped forward, uncrossing his arms. He was the only one that was still in good fighting condition. He knew that he would likely end up like the others - injured, sore, and tired. There was no other option.

"No, Defender. I have another plan. He's right. We will never stop them there. We have to think smarter. We have to prepare to stop them at the next chance we get." Billy did not look up from his handheld pad. He flicked one finger across it's surface rapidly, the aura of quickly shifting pages of information glowing across his face. He finally stopped at one and smiled, handing the view-screen over to the Defender.

"We need to gather any other Rangers we can. The only one I can think of that wouldn't be too hard to find is right there. Andros has been exploring deep space for a long while. Through existing in hibernation, he has retained his youth. He may be the youngest, powerful Ranger alive."

Tommy's face lit up as he heard his friend's words. He hadn't seen Andros in years, but he knew he was their best shot. Travelling through hyperspace, exploring different galaxies, the young man had hardly aged at all since they were young. He would still be just as strong and battle-ready as he had been years and years ago. He had still kept his Morpher, as well. As he was taking the Mark II Astro Megaship outside of Alliance-controlled territory, he had received special permission to keep it - and a couple of others.

The Magna Defender did not need to hear any more than this. He handed the view-screen back to his friend and turned, quickly, towards the door. He had already memorized the coordinates.

"Our communications link doesn't extend to deep space - we wont be able to let him know you're coming." Billy took the pad back from him and tapped it a few more times, staring down as more information came across the screen, "Also, we have a ship here. I just don't know how you are going to break through the blockade. All flights on to or off of the planet are still suspended."

"Just leave that to me." The Magna Defender said nothing more as he briskly walked out of the room. He would find a way. He always found a way. Despite the terrible situation, he actually found himself much more comfortable heading out on a mission alone. At least alone, he would not have to worry about losing another friend.

"Good luck." Tommy picked up his crutch and hobbled out of the room behind the Defender. He leaned against the wall and watched the man go, continuing to stare down the hallway long after his ally had vanished.

* * *

The two Rangers stared up through their tunnel at Ecliptor, uncertain of their next move. They had no fight with anyone locked in the facility, and didn't care to have one. Their instructions had been simple: get the Morphers, and then get out.

"You're the two quietest Power Rangers I've ever met." The green and black beast spoke to them again, smiling even bigger. Roland was unsure of what this monster knew that he didn't - how he could feel so confident staring down a tunnel at two powered-up Rangers. He did not intend to find out.

"I've got this trained right at the center of your face. If you want out, get out now. If you want a fight, well, I'm going to start it by putting a few right between your eyes." The man's voice took on an authoritative, bold timber as it passed through the helmets speech processor. He gave his blaster a slight wiggle, making sure everyone involved could see where it was pointed.

"What are you talking about? Let's waste this creep!" Nico had drawn back into a battle pose, holding her Crystal Saber above her helmeted head. Roland knew the young woman would strike soon, with or without him.

Ecliptor's eyes glowed a deeper shade of red as he considered them both.

"You're not real Rangers at all. You're ... _afraid_!" The creature's voice quieted to a low hiss on the last word. He had dealt with far too many Rangers to mistake these two. The one thing they had all had, generally to their own detriment, was a complete lack of fear in the face of danger. They all had seemed to value the greater good over their own well-being. These two humans, whoever they were, were very much concerned with their own well-being. Even encased in the shiny, powerful armor of heroes, they felt fearful and selfish. He could sense it coming off of them in waves.

Ecliptor gave a fierce roar as he plunged from the hole above them. As soon as he was free of the constraints of his cell, a long sword appeared from a burst of light in his hand.

Roland, as the Black Ranger, fired his blade blaster repeatedly. His target was far too quick, though. The spot where the beast had jumped from exploded as two rapid-fire energy shots made impact, showering further debris down into the already-crowded tunnel.

The green and black monster landed heavily on the remains of a tram car, just in front of the White Ranger. As she rushed forward, saber first, Ecliptor brought up his own weapon quickly, smashing his blade into hers with a power and fury that seemed to large for even his over-sized frame to muster. The two engaged in a brief saber duel, with the former prisoner sending his opponent flying away with a burst of sparks after just three strikes.

Roland had turned and tried to train his blade blaster on their new found enemy. The thing was was unbelievably fast, though, and danced around Nico quickly. The man could not fire on one without risking his blast hitting the other.

As Nico began to try and get off of her back into a standing position, Ecliptor stepped forward and planted one massive foot into her chest. She was pushed back into the debris with a sharp crunching sound and all of the air was pushed from her lungs.

"Stop! I told you, you are free to leave! We aren't here to fight you!" Roland's hand came up and disengaged the visor on his helmet, displaying his scarred face to the creature before him. He did not know if the thing would somehow be able to gain some insight into their intentions by looking into his eyes, but he hoped that a show of vulnerability would convince him that they meant no harm.

Ecliptor laughed loudly, pushing Nico further into the ground as he leveled the end of his sword with the front of her helmet.

"Let's get something straight, _boy_." The beast spat back at him, rotating his head to face the man. For a moment, glowing red eyes met the pitch darkness of the human's and held his gaze, as if daring him to make the next move, "you are in no position to tell me what I can and cannot do."

"Blast him, Roland." The White Rangers gloved hands laced around the monster's leg and began trying to pull it away from her body. As he pushed down harder, Nico put more energy into her struggle against him. Her throat and lungs burned as the last gasps of oxygen fled them. She could see the darkness tightening around her vision.

Just when it seemed as if he was going to continue pressing until there was no life left, Ecliptor raised his leg off of the woman. Nico erupted into a fit of coughs and gasps, her tense muscles going limp as her limbs extended out at her sides.

Ecliptor stabbed his saber into the ground next to the White Ranger, kneeling down to bring his face closer her helmet.

"I will be going, now. I thank you for so kindly breaking me out of my cell. I don't know who you are, but your complete and utter failure tells me that those suits do not belong to you. If I am correct, it is likely that the real Power Rangers are after you. If this is the case, I suggest you run. Quickly." Ecliptor stood and turned towards Roland, his saber still firmly in the ground just a few inches from Nico's head. The girl continued to sputter and cough. Her lungs burned as they drew in oxygen once again.

"Your fear and your selfishness. It will make you strong, but not strong enough to face real Power Rangers. Maybe we can meet again, someday. You would make decent henchmen." The monster withdrew his saber from the ground and turned away from the pair, stepping to the side of the damaged train and walking deeper into the darkened tunnel.

"In the meantime, I hope you don't mind if I help out a few of my friends." He gave a low chuckle and disappeared into the darkness beyond.

Roland rushed over and dropped to his partner's side. He didn't care much for the young girl, but he certainly didn't like seeing her hurt. He also knew that his boss would likely make him pay for any injuries she sustained. For a moment he just stared at her, not sure what he could even do to help.

Before he could speak, Nico lifted up into a sitting position and then began struggling to her feet, picking up the abandoned saber at her side. Her once-clean armor was caked with dirt, and she bore Ecliptor's foot prints across her chest.

"Don't get all mushy on me, bud. We have a mission to do."

Before he could answer her, the woman took three steps forward and then shot straight upwards, into the hole they had made in the tunnel's ceiling.

The man watched her for a second, and then holstered his own weapon and brought a hand up to his helmet. As his visor slid closed, hiding his face once more, he jumped after her into the light.


	11. The Vault

"We are being over-run. They have broken through our barricades. I repeat, we have been over run!"

The holographic message crackled out of existence with the roaring sound of blaster fire and a final scream from the guard. Arkadian turned to look the prison over with her own eyes, through the small view port on her right.

The gigantic orbiting base still looked like the beacon of security and calm that it had become over the years, from the outside. From the recent reports they had received, it had become a mad house inside. What had apparently started out as a small team looking to steal the Morphers had now became a full-on prison uprising. Somewhere along the way, several dozen of the worst criminals imaginable had been broken free of their cells. This only lead to further prisoners being released, and took a very bad situation in an even worse direction.

Their ship was quickly approaching the base, and the Captain was still unsure of what horrors they would find inside. The command posts had all been taken over by the mob of free prisoners. Every hanger had fallen under their control - or lack thereof - as well - making it impossible to send in reinforcements.

"We don't know if it's an organized group or just or just chaos in there. Honestly, this may be a rare instance of chaos being the desired option. A group of organized, unified super villains sounds like more of a hassle to deal with." Trestle was sitting a few rows ahead of the Captain, in a seat separated and on it's own.

 _Even at a time like this, he has to be in first class._ Arkadian rolled her eyes and resumed staring at the prison. In the cold silence of space, it was hard to imagine the horrors that could be taking place within those walls. There were hundreds of living guards on the small moon, in addition to the thousands of robotic ones. Many of the prisoners aboard would have happily killed that many people _before_ they were locked up for decades. Now, the human guards trapped inside likely face a fate worse than death.

That wasn't for her to worry about. Not today. The civilian casualties and consequences of thousands of escaped prisoners were something GuardCorp was working on dealing with later. For now, they had to make sure the prisoners did not gain access to what had been locked up with them - the power Morphers.

"Can I go ahead and remind everyone present how dumb it was to lock up a bunch of Morphers inside the biggest prison in the galaxy?" Faulkner aggressively gnawed at a tooth pick as he spoke - likely his hundredth in the quick emergency-speeds transit from Earth.

"I would also like to remind everyone that _our employers_ \- and they do, still, employ all of us - placed the Morphers in many locations. The devices that were kept at the prison would have been completely inaccessible, if they had not utilized their previously-stolen devices to get to them. Also, we believe the escaped prisoners are a completely separate issue altogether - the cause was likely this terrorist group tearing through a base with powers they can't control." Trestle stood up as he spoke and walked to the weapons cabinet at the back of the cabin. He placed his hand to a black square in the center of it and the doors clicked open silently.

"Now, let's talk less about what mistakes have been made," The man paused as he hefted a large, heavy rifle out of the cabinet and pushed it towards Faulkner, "And more about how we are going to avoid making more of them."

The red-headed Admiral caught it easily, despite his sitting position. He checked that it was loaded and the safety was deactivated before sliding it next to his seat.

"We don't have time for strike teams, or to even get some Morphers of our own. That is why I've brought you in, specifically. We can stop this whole thing, right now - put an end to it. All we need to do is get in, get the devices, kill the bad guys, and get out." Trestle took the next rifle and checked that it was active as well, before tossing it over his own shoulder.

Faulkner scoffed at this, but said nothing. Instead, he reached into his heavy trench over coat and pulled out his box of matches. He opened his mouth and allowed the current one to drop, limply, to the floor as he chose a fresh one.

The assembled group - Captain Arkadian, Rex, Admiral Faulkner, and Dominique - the Admiral's personal assistant - were the best-trained, highest-ranking individuals that could be found on such short notice. To avoid even further widespread media humiliation, the organization had elected to keep the events occurring at the prison secret from most of it's employees.

The group remained in silence as their ship closed the distance between them and the prison.

"Since the hangers are.. well, unavailable to us, we have to improvise." Trestle spoke quickly as the shuttle zoomed in closely to the side of the station. For a second it remained stationary, hovering with just a few feet separating it and the side of the station. The whole cabin was bathed in a quiet darkness. Then, all at once, the ship veered away and then back again. It slammed into the prison with the angry screech of metal tearing against metal, and everyone in the shuttle was thrown wildly.

"Improvise?" Rex's hulking frame had been standing for the entire trip, much to the pilot's dismay. Now, with the rough impact, the man was sprawled out between two seats - his weapons strewn on the cabin floor all around him. Just as he spoke, the craft pulled back and then pushed itself into the prison once again.

After a quick adjustment, the shuttle rested itself against the metal of the station more gently than before. The ships boarding gate extended out and connected with the station, surrounding a small viewing port.

"Improvise." Trestle turned and slid his weapon off of his shoulder, firing two shots through the boarding gate and into the window beyond. As the glass cracked and fell inwards, in one solid piece, there was a huge rush of air as the the atmospheres of the two respective spacecrafts adjusted to each other.

Arkadian and the rest of the group stood up from their seats. The opening was small enough that they would need to pass through it single-file. After a few seconds of wordless debate and adjustment, Faulkner was given the lead.

"Remember, whatever happens in there, we are just here to get the Morphers. Anything else is a distraction from our mission. Our communications devices are linked to their own private channel. We will stick together, though. We shouldn't need them." Trestle gestured towards the broken viewport. Inside, what looked like a darkened office had remained - so far - untouched. Faulkner stepped forward, took one look back, and then jumped through the window. The rest followed.

"Stay here. You may need this." Trestle tossed a small blaster to the pilot's feet. The man had said nothing since they had taken off from Earth. Nothing less was expected from a top-level pilot at GuardCorp.

"Thank you, sir." The man picked it up and slid it into his waistband, turning so that his body was facing the place where the two ships met. Trestle was the last of the group to pass through the broken window. The captain was now alone with his ship.

* * *

"Hurry up, it sounds like it's getting worse out there!" Nico chanced a quick glance around the edge of the door frame. The hallway was still empty, save for the slowly-growing pile of regenerating robot bodies. Right next to her, Roland continued to try his best to put in the correct code.

Neither of then had ever seen an actual manual safe lock in their lives. Technology had mostly replaced the coded, clicking mechanisms years before either of them had been born. Whoever had specifically been in charge of security decisions when it came to the Morphers had either been very fond of ancient technology, or had a sense of humor.

"Shhh.. Nico, I'm trying to hear the clicks!" The Black Ranger had removed his helmet and had his head pressed against the surface of safe L-283 - one of literally thousands within the vault - listening for some sort of sign. All around them, the sounds of battle roared. Every few seconds, they could feel the burst of an explosion somewhere around them.

With a horrific crack, the safe door finally popped from it's frame and swung forward slowly. Inside, Roland could see already, were six Power Morphers. The man quickly grabbed his back pack and unzipped it. He held it up to the side of the safe and began sliding the devices inside, one by one.

"Hold on, Roland! What if there is another color I like in there!? I've always wanted to be the Pink Ranger!" Nico made a pouting face behind the blank black visor on her Ranger mask. She stuck her head into the hallway once again to keep a look out ... and received a quick punch to the helmet.

"What the hell!?" The White Ranger's body crashed into the other side of the door frame, denting it's metal. She leaped up like a feline, and raised her left hand. Her claws extended once again, and she prepared to pounce on the newcomer.

"Step away from the safe. Those are not yours." The Phantom Ranger stepped into the room, his new ally at his heals. He held his Phantom Laser in one hand, and his other hand was still formed into a fist. Behind him, the Silver Space Ranger stood by, his sidearm also at the ready.

"You again? Aren't you still healing up from last time?" Roland looked right past the first Ranger and settled his pitch black eyes on the second one. He set his backpack down and slowly reached down to retrieve his helmet.

The Phantom Laser filled the entire room with sound - blasting the space between helmet and hand with a furious, crackling black energy bolt. He stepped forward and delivered a lightning-quick kick to Roland's chest - sending him sailing through the air and loudly smashing into the ceiling above.

"Super Silverizer!" Kit stepped in behind the much larger man, flipping the blade portion of his weapon - which now crackled and hummed powerfully - into the open position. He slashed it quickly across Nico's chest and she, too, was blasted backwards in a wave of sparks.

Roland recovered quickly and, somehow, managed to get his helmet back on properly. In just a second, he and the Phantom Ranger were involved in a tremendous fist fight - exchanging massive punches and quick kicks back and forth. The Black Ranger drew his Blade Blaster, pointing it's end straight at the Phantom Ranger. His enemy simply vanished into thin air, somehow - turning invisible. The Blade Blaster was ripped from the Ranger's hand and sent flying across the room.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, you punk!" Instantly, the Crystal Saber was back in Nico's hand and she was wildly thrusting it forward. The Silver Ranger was forced to dip, jump, and dodge to avoid getting slashed by the powerful weapon. He did not seem to move fast enough to keep up with the young woman. It felt as they were in a fight that she had likely prepared for - and he had not. He quickly began to grow tired.

As the two pairs fought they moved slowly in opposite directions, away from the safe. They were in a long, open corridor with hundreds of similar safes embedded into the walls. Each one of the golden doors was marked with a large L followed by a number.

Four AREs droids buzzed into the L-Vault and began firing on the two darker Rangers. They were locked tightly arm-to-arm, each trying to push the other one to the ground while occasionally throwing a fist. The laser fire caused them to separate - each of them backing into their own respective sides of the corridor. They seemed very evenly matched, but neither would allow themselves to lose. As the droids continued to rain down blasts at them, the pair of Rangers turned to face them.

The Phantom Ranger rolled forward on the ground, coming to a stop by slamming a two-legged kick into the base of one of the droids. He then jumped to his feet and grabbed a second droid's blaster as it attempted to fire on him, pointing it at another AREs right as it went off. A smokey, blackened hole appeared in the center of this droid's chest and it's blue thrusters went out immediately. It clunked to the floor just as the fourth one - it's head removed by a perfectly-timed Black Ranger punch - landed next to it. The Phantom Ranger began to twist the arm he had a hold on - until it gave a loud pop and ripped from the droid's torso.

Before the man could completely take down the one-armed droid, the Black Ranger was upon him again. Grabbing him in a firm around-the-neck grip with his forearm, Roland lifted the other man into the air with his choke hold and swung him into the droid he had been fighting. Without releasing the hold, he started to whip the Phantom's body in the other direction. The Phantom ripped free of the man's second attack and quickly delivered another heavy punch of his own to his chest. The Black Ranger once again was thrown off of his feet, this time smashing into a safe so hard that it broke open, spilling it's contents.

* * *

In only a moment they were in the thick of it. The hallways were a roaring mess of security droid and monsters battling it out. The smell of laser fire and burned flesh lay heavy in the air, and the cackling cries of a thousand unknown beasts called out.

Faulkner led the group through the cramped, brightly-lit hallways that seemed to be some sort of an administrative area. The lights occasionally flashed as they fought their way through - blasting nameless enemy after nameless enemy. Any security forces they came upon were automatically inspired to lock into the team and assist them - their GuardCorp badges were good about interacting wirelessly with any of their security systems. Within moments, the small group of humans became a large group composed of mostly security droids.

When they had at least broken free into a much wider, open corridor, it was not as they hoped it would be. Broken food carts, cleaning supplies, and droid parts littered the floor all around them. Prisoner fought prisoner in almost every corner, most of them paying little mind to the damage they were causing themselves or those around them.

"At least we got a close parking spot." Faulkner joked, stopping quickly as a three-armed reptilian creature lashed out at him. The Admiral ended the monster with three short bursts from his laser rifle, and the team continued on.

It didn't take them long, with the assistance of the security droids, to reach the entry to the Vault. They had all gone over a map on their trip, and knew that the Morphers were being kept in a safe in Section L. Monster after monster greeted them as they traveled, their numbers so many that it was impossible to kill even a fraction of them - they simply moved forward. An assortment of escaped prisoners, wild and angry, began to follow their party.

"We will keep the Vault secure, you go ahead and get the Morphers!" The Admiral and his assistant each held off as the others ran forward, turning to face the single entrance to the various Vaults. The man motioned to the security droids behind them and they, too, stopped moving forward. They turned around and began firing on the group that had been following them.

The others nodded their agreement and kept charging forward, as a nearby battle shook the entire corridor. As they narrowed in on Vault L , it's outer door was ripped open as a fully-suited Silver Power Ranger was thrown through it.

Arkadian recognized the Ranger instantly. It was the same silver suit that the thief on KO-35 had run off wearing. She turned towards Rex and saw that he, too, recognized it. She pointed her blaster at the Ranger and pulled the trigger.

The blasts hit the man like a freight train. A giant area of the floor around him was completely destroyed as he was tossed from side to side. A White Power Ranger emerged from the broken door, and the Captain turned her weapon towards the newcomer.

"De-Morph, now, or be destroyed." The active weapon in her hand gave off a threatening hum.

The White Ranger reacted quickly - leaping forward and landing right in front of Arkadian, she swung her Crystal Saber around and sliced the rifle cleanly in half as the woman pulled the trigger. The weapon fizzled and sent a few harmless sparks from it's end.

"Not so tough now, are 'ya!?" Nico smashed a palm into Arkadians face and dropped her, quickly, to her knees. As soon as she fell, the rest of her team opened fire on the White Ranger - slamming her with bolt after bolt of powerful energy. In a second, she had also been smashed into the ground - defeated, as the Silver one had been. Smoke rolled off of her suit as she lay motionless, dirty, and debris-covered.

Rex dropped to his Captain's side. She had fallen from her knees into a face-first laying position on the ground. He checked her pulse quickly. She was alive, but clearly badly damaged. Her nose was obviously broken and blood drained from it across her white body suit. He wondered how extensively the strike could have damaged the rest of her head, behind the shattered nose.

Trestle crouched low but paid little attention to his fallen comrade, instead rushing forward into the Vault. Inside, he saw quickly that two more Rangers were battling it out - though one appeared to be gaining the upper hand. The Phantom Ranger had his enemy on the ground and was repeatedly bashing his helmet with a broken-off safe door. The man's black visor was already cracked and missing a couple of pieces - the edges where metal met glass were bent in from the bludgeoning.

Just as the Phantom Ranger raised the door high over his head the man on the ground gave a sharp laugh. It came out sounding closer to a bark, but it's sound was enough to give his attacker pause.

"You win. But you don't get the Morphers." Roland brought a hand up and removed his helmet, revealing a badly-wounded face underneath. His face was thick and purple with bruising, his eyes nearly swollen shut. The man knew that this would be his last battle. He could feel his consciousness drifting away from him.

"That's where you're wrong." The other Ranger raised the door once again over his head, now over whatever interest had compelled him to stop and listen to the man in the first place. Just before he could bring it down, likely ending Roland's life, something skittered across the floor and into the man's hand.

As the Phantom Ranger brought the door down, the Black Ranger fired his blade blaster at a backpack across the room. Trestle watched, confused for a second. Then, an incredible roar and flames lashed out from where the backpack had once been. The man was vaporized almost instantly, before he oeven had a chance to scream.


	12. Faces And Names

Kit's head hummed and pulsed as if the violent explosions outside it had somehow moved within. The world outside of his helmet's view screen was dark - a complete blackness occasionally interrupted by a flash of red light. Sirens screamed at him from seemingly every direction.

He was really beginning to hate this feeling. Waking up and having to reassemble the prior events like a broken puzzle. His head didn't seem to be taking it too well, either. What previously had been pain was now only numb acknowledgment that consciousness had escaped him yet again, settling coldly into his head.

"Roland! Where are you!?" The White Ranger cried out from just a few feet away. When Kit turned to look at her, he realized that she was already standing. He didn't understand how the girl could have beat him to that point. Then again, she had been beating him pretty often since they met.

Nico stared at the pile of rubble, trying to take it all in with every flash of the red emergency light. She had awoken to the distinct roar of their explosive packs detonating all at once. The whole station had seemed to have been shifted by the force of the explosion. Facing towards the Vault entrance, all the girl could see was a floor-to-ceiling mass of concrete and still, twisted and blackened.

A muted sound, barely audible over the endless screech of the sirens, drew the young woman's attention to the ground behind her. The Ranger she had been battling before the explosion lay there, his armor as dirty and dusty as her own. For a moment, she considered turning and delivering one final blow to the man's helmet. Ending their battle once and for all would free her up to find her partner and the remaining Morphers without being disturbed. Still, something about ending their battle while her opponent lay helpless on the ground seemed below her.

"Crystal Saber!"

Nico held out her right hand. With a burst of pale blue light, her weapon appeared. She immediately charged forward and began smashing it against the mass of debris before her.

A moment later, she flinched as arms wrapped around her own - the Silver Ranger had gotten off of the ground and was struggling to pull her away from the debris.

"Use the life force scanner in your helmet! There is no one back there. They're gone." Kit braced himself for some sort of violence - certain that he woman would lash out at him for making contact with her. Surprisingly, once he spoke and revealed his intentions, the White Ranger seemed to relax ever so slightly. His aching muscles silently rejoiced.

As he spoke, some sort of mechanical crunching could be heard from beyond the debris. The air around them seemed to thicken, and the siren stopped. In a moment, the overhead lights turned back on - albeit dimly.

Nico let her weapon slip from her hand and clatter to the floor. He was right. The high-tech scanning devices built into the Ranger helmets confirmed it - there was no life behind the pile of debris. It seemed that her partner was gone. She took a deep breath, considering her situation. She hadn't cared too much for Roland, but he had helped her out throughout the mission. The best thing she could do now was finish what they had started together, alone.

"If you don't let go of me, I will make sure there is no life force left in your body!" She pushed free of the other Ranger's grip and whirled around to face him. A quick palm to his chest sent the man fumbling backward for a moment.

"How about you do what you were hired to do and help me find these dumb Morphers!" She had almost forgotten who was behind the Silver Ranger helmet. The thief - hired by her own boss - that seemed to have betrayed him. First he had nearly blown the mission for the DigiMorpher, then he had stolen it - leaving a mess behind. Then, after they had tracked him down, he had killed one of Grave's other men and then caused a huge scene. If he had simply stuck to doing what he was being paid to do, they would likely not be in the situation they were currently in.

"I've done more than enough for your boss. I think he has caused enough problems with his stolen power!" Kit regained his footing and stepped into a battle stance. Both his hands formed into tight fists as his aching muscles did the best they could to prepare for another battle. Just the thought of it made him tired.

The saber on the ground lifted up on it's own - pulled as if by a wire directly into Nico's hand. She, too, struck a battle pose and raised the weapon high above her head.

"How about we refrain from killing each other for the time being?"

Before the two of them could begin another battle, a deep, slightly accented voice called out to them from the other side of the corridor.

They both turned and saw a giant man staring at them. He wore a dark overcoat so massive it looked as if it was sewn from half of s circus tent. At his feet, an auburn-haired woman lay in a pool of blood. In his hands, a gigantic automatic blaster - one that would have looked even larger if it weren't being held by such a giant.

For a moment, they both held their respective poses but made no move. Kit glanced from the White Ranger in front of him to the blaster-carrying man and then back again. He had already felt the wrath of one of those blasters, and it had not been pleasant. The girl in front of him had also done much more than hold her own against him. There was no way he would be able to face both of them at once. He wished the Phantom Ranger were still there to back him up - but he was gone. Destroyed, along with the girl's team mate and another man - and the Morphers they had come to protect.

Kit felt a shiver. He had almost always preferred to be alone, whether on a job or otherwise. Other people tended to just complicate things too much. Involving another person in one of his heists was a great way to be let down. Strangely, though, he already missed his brief ally. He had felt some sort of connection with the other Ranger, as if they had been friends for years previous.

As the three of them tried to state each other down, a dull rumble echoed through the corridor. It was hard to know for certain, but it sounded as if a blast door had been broken through, somewhere. The sounds of a gigantic riot of monsters could now be heard, peppered with the occasional roar of rifle fire.

"You mind your own business, buddy." Nico spoke to the tall Russian man venomously, but did not take her eyes off of the Silver Ranger.

"If I mind my own business, you kill him. After you kill him, you come for me." Rex shook his head and took a step closer to the pair, adjusting his weapon so that it was pointed perfectly at the White Ranger. He looked down for a moment to make sure that Arkadian was still breathing. She appeared to be, but was still in fairly bad shape. Black bruises were beginning to appear across her damaged nose and into the sockets of her eyes. He needed to get her to a doctor. Soon.

As soon as the rifle was no longer pointed at him, Kit's thoughts seemed to flow easier. He still did not know how he could possibly face them both, but he now realized that he may not have to. He knew the equipment that the man and his fallen friend were wearing - they were GuardCorp. High ranking, too, judging by the multi-colored glowing rectangles on the man's coat. The woman on the ground had even more of them on her body suit. As law enforcement officials, they would be here to keep the Morphers protected. If Kit could somehow convey to the man that they were both there for the same reasons, maybe they could unite against the woman in front of him..

"Maybe I skip him and come after you, first? Or I go for your injured friend, there? Why you don't you just take her and keep her safe, leave us be." Nico did not visibly react to the gun being turned on her, but she knew that it likely could completely lose her the entire battle with one blast - or worse.

"I don't care what you think you will do to me. You will not harm her. We cannot leave - the prisoners you broke out have overtaken the facility. We are blocked in here." Rex spoke with authority, as if he was reading a prophecy. There was not even a sliver of doubt in his voice. He had long-ago sworn his life to protecting the Captain, and he had only grown more dedicated as time went on. He would not let anything more happen to her. The sound of blaster fire and howls of demons seemed to grow nearer still.

The young woman considered his words for a moment. She almost denied having anything to do with the prison break, almost demanded to know how he knew that she had something to do with it. She decided it was best to not even touch on that subject at all.

"H-how do I know this guy is gonna listen, too? He's a thief you know!" Nico nodded towards the Silver Ranger and moved her sword hand for emphasis as she spoke. The chaotic sounds of battle seemed to draw nearer to their corridor. She began to get nervous. She didn't like the idea of a truce with either one of these two - but she didn't like the idea of being trapped in a prison and eaten by monsters alone, either. Even if she failed to get the Morphers, she would still have her life.

"Why don't you two go ahead and take off your helmets and introduce each other. It might help settle some things," Rex was glad that his words were finally having some sort effect. He was very quickly losing his patience. He did not know if he even had the strength left in him to battle the two Rangers in front of him. He would likely end up losing his life, even if he did win the battle. He lowered his own blaster, pointing the end of it towards the floor, and spoke, "I am Rex. I am a soldier with GuardCorp. This is Captain Arkadian. You can call her Darla. I am her assistant. She needs help, and soon. We are all here for different reasons, but we can help each other get free. Once we are out - we can settle whatever problems we have then."

"I'm Kit," The man relaxed and slid his helmet off, hoping that he wouldn't grow to regret it. He had been beaten up enough in the last several hours. He still wondered if there wasn't some way out of this whole mess, for him anyway. He knew that the other two were a part of this now - they had other people to think of, and a mission to accomplish. He knew that Graves' two henchmen didn't have the Morphers. One of them was dead. Even without the Phantom Ranger, Kit had finished what he had set out to do - sort of.

Nico continued to look back and forth between the two men. She considered leaping forward, cutting down the Silver Ranger before using her Ranger speed to move on to the large man with the gun. She likely could have him on the ground before he could get his rifle aimed again. He looked like someone that would be difficult to fight, but she knew that the strength her Ranger suit gave her would help. He was only a man. A big man, yes - but still just a man.

"Oh this is just great. I'm going soft." Just before she mustered up the courage to strike, Nico relaxed her grip on her weapon. She again let the sword drop to the floor and reached up to remove her own helmet.

"I'm Nico. Terrible to meet you. Can we figure out a plan now, please? I don't like breathing the same air as him." She shook out her neon pink hair as she spoke, and then gestured again towards Kit. She would settle the score with him later - no matter what. He had cost Roland his life, and cost her this mission, and cost her boss even more than that.

Rex knelt down and looked the Captain over one more time, now that they had both relaxed. He knew that they would not be able to battle their way through the station and back to their ship. He was glad that he finally got the other two to stop fighting, but now it was down to him - he needed a plan. He heard the approaching crowd and wondered how Faulkner was doing - if he was doing at all. It would be against the GuardCorp code to leave a higher-ranking man and his assistant, but he knew that he would do anything to save the Captain. Darla. He loved her, he realized. It took her near-death for him to realize that his dedication was not quite dedication alone. It went beyond the job. He was dedicated to her. He cared about her.

A pair of objects glowed in the debris at Rex's feet for only a second. He looked up, glancing at the other two to see if they had seen what had caught his eye. They had not. He knelt down and began brushing dust and loose debris aside, a smile growing across his face. Rex didn't smile often.

"What are you cheesin' at!?" Nico was walking towards the large man, but still glaring at Kit as she spoke. He also seemed to be walking towards Rex, though he was keeping his distance from the pink-haired Ranger.

"Well," Rex held up one of the objects he had stumbled across as his smile grew, "It's Morphin' Time!"


	13. Last Stands And Second Chances

Tommy Oliver turned the White Tiger Power Coin over in his hands, studying it. He didn't know if it would ever be usable again - but he knew that the risk was worth it. He had decided that giving it's energy to Ninjor in the hopes of healing him was the best thing to do with the Power Coin. His last battle had shown that he was getting far too old to be a Ranger, and he still had a couple of other powers at his disposal if he absolutely needed to fight. Something about the White Tiger Coin, though, seemed to connect with the man on a deeper level than any of the others.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Billy looked at his friend and could tell that he was struggling inside. He had volunteered his own Triceratops Coin, but his ally had refused to let him use it. Tommy had bonded with several different Morphers in his years as a Ranger, and could still use the others in the absence of his Tiger Power Coin - Billy only had one. Still, Billy couldn't help but feel that making sure he continued to have power was just a waste.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Let's do this." Tommy took one last look at the coin and then held it out over Ninjor's chest. Billy looked down to his view-screen and began to activate the program he had designed. He hoped that his calculations had been correct.

For a second, nothing seemed to happen. Then, suddenly, every piece of electrical equipment in the room stopped working. They were bathed in complete darkness, except for a slight glow coming from Tommy's Power Coin. The dim light exploded into a blindingly bright one - filling the entire room with white hot light.

Tommy felt the coin grow warm, and it began to vibrate slightly. He could feel the White Ranger energy within his chest start to draw out of his body. The major events of his time using this power began to flash before his eyes - the key moments of their time together.

The white light became a solid column of power connecting Tommy's chest to Ninjor's. The coin turned hot and began to burn in the man's hand, and he tried to release it. It did not fall, and the column of energy between them did not break. The light flowed across Ninjor's body, before settling into the blackened hole in his chest. It seemed to fill it like a liquid, until the wound was completely full.

The feeling in Tommy's hand had almost completely gone away - the burning sensation replaced by a warm numbness that traveled half way up his arm. As the light around the coin began to die, he saw that his hand was still there, gripping it tightly.

The lights in the room surged back to life, and Ninjor sat up quickly, knocking Tommy's hand to the side. The coin dropped to the floor and broke into two pieces. The sound rattled the former White Ranger deep into his core. It was the tiger coin - among all of them - that he had felt most connected to.

"I ... am alive!" Ninjor's voice filled the room and the two former Ranger's exchanged bright smiles. The ninja robot turned and stepped off of the bed - slamming heavily to the floor with a brief wobble.

"We are glad it worked, Ninjor. We didn't know if the White Tiger coin would be enough to restore your life force." Billy had set his view-screen down and was examining the humanoid closely. He almost couldn't believe that it was real - that their friend was actually back. The grim reality of their situation didn't seem so bad with the boisterous warrior on their side.

"I'm glad too! I have much work to do!" The blue ninja looked up for a moment, as if receiving some far-off communication that was being beamed straight into his head.

"What work?" Tommy glanced to Billy for a moment, wondering how stable their friend's state of mind was. From lifeless to having work to do, in just a matter of seconds.

"I have to prepare, Tommy. There is a new team of Rangers, and they've just ran into each other!"

As the trio continued their conversation on the way out of the room, a small white spark flickered across the floor. It crackled lightly as it moved to a place behind all of the machinery and computers. The Blue Senturion's lifeless body lay, abandoned and forgotten. The spark flew in through one of the cracked light lenses on the robot's chest, and his body gave a slight twitch..

* * *

"Sir, they will break through our line in just moments" The ARE robot's voice was distorted - the skull-like titanium piece that constituted it's 'head' had been crushed more than once in the last few minutes, damaging the speaker inside.

"Well that doesn't take any computer analytics to see!" Admiral Faulkner hissed back at the droid in between roaring burst of laser fire from his rifle.

A pile of broken droid parts formed a loose line between Faulkner's group and the approaching crowd of monsters. Above them, a group of five AREs that were still functioning held a line. A mixture of putties and tenga foot soldiers faced them while projectiles were launched from behind.

"It's been far too long." Prince Gasket, surrounded by a thick group of his own Cog soldiers, stood several feet back from the battle.

"Once we gain access to the powers within those vaults, we will be unstoppable!" Princess Archerina stood next to her lover. She waved her hand and a wave of Cog soldiers rushed forward, joining their fool soldier counterparts battling the guard droids.

"Let's not get too hasty, Machines. You won't be the only ones using those powers." A grotesque, horned humanoid stepped up behind the pair. The creature held a tall silver staff with a Z shining at it's top.

The mechanical monsters turned and faced the son of their former enemies. They both exchanged glances with each other before turning back to face the battle at hand. Neither were too fond of Thrax. Most of the villains in the prison were not, actually. Born to a pair of mildly successful villains had led the creature to believe that he had somehow earned a place with the rest of them. They would have to teach him a lesson, after they dealt with their other problems.

Another AREs droid fell and there wasn't another to take it's place. The fallen droids were struggling to regenerate, but the massive battle around them seemed to prevent them from getting very far. Before more of the foot soldiers could get behind the remaining droids, Faulkner ran forward and took the place of the fallen droid. The closest putties were bashed in the face with his rifle, and the nearest Cogs were blown backwards by a large laser blast.

"Enough of this!" From behind the group of villains, a voice called out - so loud that it seemed to overtake the battle for a moment. Even Gasket and Thrax flinched at it's volume, before turning around to see who had yelled.

"You have been wasting time letting foot soldiers do the fighting!? You fools!" Ecliptor stomped throw a crowd of putties, tossing them aside easily before approaching Thrax.

"You think because your dumpster queen of a mother happened to score a victory or two, that you are worthy of leading the battle from behind!?" The black and green creature slammed the other monster into the wall while the rest of the fighters looked on. He held him there by his throat for a couple of silent seconds, staring into his face. The other creature gripped his father's staff tightly, but made no attempt to speak.

"It's like you morons learned nothing from your past failures!" Ecliptor brought the point of his sword up to Thrax's face and considered destroying him just to set an example. Instead, he let go of the humanoid's throat. The horned creature collapsed to the ground, choking and gripping his chest. Ecliptor whirled around, facing Gasket and his lover.

"You should have been done clearing this hallway hours ago! These petty robots are nothing compared to our power!" He turned and sent an energy blast from his sword sailing towards the remaining AREs droids. They were blown into pieces almost instantly, and the Admiral and his assistant were taken down to the ground.

Faulkner wasted no time. Pointing his rifle towards the opposition without giving a thought to aiming properly, he squeezed the trigger and held it. Blast after blast from his weapon shot forward, hitting soldiers at random as they stood still for a moment, watching him.

Ecliptor gave a slight growl and stepped forward, crushing the head of a fallen putty while knocking aside a group of dumbfounded tenga with one shift of his arm. He reached forward and his hand turned transparent for a moment - just a black and green outline floating in the air. It entered into Faulkner's chest smoothly, without damage. The light outline of his fist emerged from the Admiral's back. Ecliptor lifted his arm and the Admiral rose with it.

"Stop!" For nearly the first time the whole mission, Dominique spoke out. The dark-skinned woman stepped forward and fired a wave of energy blasts into Ecliptor's chest. Before he had a chance to react, Thrax had stepped forward and thrown the assistant back into the wall roughly. He pinned her to it with his staff, and then looked toward his superior proudly.

"I'm not going to compliment you for doing what you should have been doing all along, you idiot. Take her to the hanger with the rest of the prisoners. This one," Ecliptor turned back to the man on his arm, "Has too much fight in him"

The warrior clenched his fist and Faulkner cried out in pain. Ecliptor's arm turned solid once again, but remained extended and through his enemy's chest. The man gasped and gave a cough - blood spattered from his mouth. His rifle smashed to the floor as he slumped forward and stared straight ahead, lifelessly.

Dominique screamed wordlessly, fighting against the massive arms of Thrax as he dragged her through the crowd.


	14. Lightning Crashes

At the highest point of the tallest tower on the planet, a darkened room was lit up by the occasional bolt of lightening outside the window. The white marble decor, when illuminated, almost seemed to glow against the dark-painted violet of the walls.

A grim, twisted specter of a man was seated in front of his marble desk. His long, thin hands gripped the purple armrests tightly, as if he were afraid that he may fall out if he let go. His blackened nails, long and speckled with silver flecks, pierced right through the plush cushioning. The man's eyes, sunken deep into his skull, were the only thing within the room giving off light. The anger beneath the ice-blue surface seemed to nearly match the fury of the storm outside.

On the other side of the desk, a man trembled on the floor in the dark. Every few seconds, an unintelligible whimper would escape his lips. His body moved as if it were being shot with electricity at random.

As the other man's muscles twisted, shifting his body into various odd and uncomfortable states, the man at the desk began to look grow bored. His grip on the arm rests of his seat loosened, and he brought his right hand up to rest on top of the desk. As the other man writhed and whimpered, he began to tap his fingers against the cool marble.

"Have you learned your lesson yet?" The man's voice was quiet and surprisingly pleasant, difficult to hear over the raucous thunder outside.

"Yes ... Graves.. Please!" The last words caught in the man's throat as he seemed to be hit by another wave of invisible electricity.

Graves watched the man writhe for another moment, wordlessly tapping at his desk with one hand as his other still gripped his arm rest. The light behind his eyes grew more intense.

"You have failed me for the last time, Reese."

The man on the floor was rocked with another wave, this one more powerful than the last. His eyes rolled back into his head as he seemed to give up, allowing the energy to overtake him. In a moment, his body lay still - smoking - on the floor.

Graves raised his hand from the desk and gestured toward the door at the end of the chamber. It burst open, spilling light into the room and across the floor. A man stepped forward, into the darkness.

"Sir?" The man's voice faltered - he clearly had heard what had happened from outside the door. The man was very average - in build and in clothing. He wore a dirty gray uniform with a black overcoat. The green Turbo Morpher gently pulsed with untapped power on his wrist. His right hand clenched the matching Turbo key tightly.

"My plan is falling apart, Morgan. I will have to do what I always should have done - handle it myself." Graves turned his palm towards the man and tightened his fingers slightly. The Morpher was violently ripped from his arm and shot across the room into Grave's waiting hand - the key trailing just behind it.

The man stood up from his desk and looked at Morpher in his hand for a moment. With a sickening sound, the device simply slid into the flesh of his palm. It reemerged a second later - properly positioned on his wrist, but without the straps - held there like it had somehow become a part of his skin.

Morgan reacted dramatically - collapsing to his knees as the devices were pulled from his hands. He stared up at his Master pathetically, sure that he was the next to be executed. He began to sob to himself softly.

"Silence. You're coming with me. We need to help clean up the mess your team mates have made." Graves slowly came around his desk, walking with a heavy limp as one leg seemed to drag uselessly. He paused for a moment, looming over his sobbing servant, before passing into the bright hallway. His robes slid across the floor, heavy with their darkness.

* * *

The explosives roared once again. This time, acting as they were intended to.

A gaping hole was ripped into the corridor wall, and the entire area went cold as the heat and air were torn out of it. The shrill emergency sirens came to life once again as the dim overhead lights began to blink out.

Without the super strength that the Ranger suits provided, the four of them would have been sent to their deaths - their bodies frozen as they shot out into the vastness of space.

Nico ground her teeth together as she fought against the pull - kneeling down and using the extended claws on her gloves to lock into the floor. Next to her, she felt the Silver Ranger similarly tense up - fighting his own battle against the vacuum of space.

She considered for a moment that with one quick, cat-like strike she could likely throw him off - get him sucked out into space. Even if he managed to recover and return to them, she would be given plenty of time to deal with the other one. Rex seemed to be struggling himself - even with the strength of his newly-equipped black Ranger suit - holding on to his captain and supporting himself was not easy. The girl knew that she could defeat him, reclaiming Roland's Morpher and the one used by the unconscious woman in the process.

Captain Arkadian - Dia, as her assistant had introduced her as to the others - was still knocked out. She had had a seemingly feeble grip on life before she had been morphed. Even now, while she healed beneath the original Red Ranger armor, her life force was very weak to the sensors in Nico's helmet. She would be a burden, unable to provide assistance.

Nico's muscles tightened up - preparing for a quick, leaping strike on both of the men at once - before she relaxed them. She sighed beneath her helmet. Despite them being compete strangers, she somehow felt a sort of kinship with the others - even the unconscious one. She was still numb from the loss of Roland, and very confused as to what her next course of action should be.

A burst of light shot out from each of their helmets - just above their visors - and illuminated a small space in front of each of them.

"We need to get out of here, now. Call your glider!" The Black Ranger's voice was only audible because of the communications link between their helmets. Dia was rested carefully over his right shoulder, both of his arms locked around her legs tightly.

Kit staggered for a second, suddenly realizing that it was his turn to do something. He brought up his left hand as the DigiMorpher materialized within it in a brief flash of white-blue light. Relying on the strange intuition that had seemed to have guided him since his time morphing, he quickly pressed the buttons that _felt_ correct.

2 - 5 - 9

"Silver Galaxy Glider!" The words left his mouth before he even had a chance to consider them - bursting from the face of his helmet loudly enough to compete with the sirens. The DigiMorpher vanished into another burst of light.

Nothing happened. The trio exchanged nervous glances across the darkened hallway. Air continued to rush by, and sirens continues to screech. They could even hear the crowd of escaped prisoners, a low distant rumble, as they burst into their corridor!

"Uhm... what now?" Nico spoke first, feeling the slam of monster feet vibrate through the floor and into her claws. She looked passed her new allies, down to a brighter-lit area of the hallway. Disturbed, misshapen shadows crew larger.

"Well. I don't really know. Last time I sorta just .. jumped out the window?" Kit's head tilted to the side with uncertainty. Last time he hadn't had a choice - he had been on his way out before his vehicle had even been summoned. There was no way he was jumping just as blindly into space.

"You're an idiot." The White Ranger continued staring out of the hole, hoping for a sign of their escape vehicle.

"They're here!" Rex moved closer to the other two, tightening his grip on the Red Ranger in his arms.

The Glider's light shined through the opening above them just as the first wave of prisoners arrived.

Nico rushed forward, pulling her Tiger Baton from the air just a second before smashing it across a Cog's chest. The beast twirled and and fell beneath a burst of sparks. The White Ranger did not pause, bringing her weapon up to strike another enemy as she planted a powerful kick into a third.

The Silver Ranger, meanwhile, was holding on to the metal edge of the corridor, gripping a tow cable strung from his Galaxy Glider. He jumped down and handed it off to Rex's waiting hand before rushing forward to join Nico.

The Black Ranger threw the metal hook directly into the floor. It settled there, providing a rough but usable connection with the Glider outside. Slowly, carefully, the man began to work his way up the rope with the Red Ranger still over his shoulder.

Two Putties dropped with burning holes to the chest as Kit reached his new ally. He swept the legs out from beneath the two Tengu behind them while firing over their shoulders at the group of Cog's surrounding Nico.

"Who's the idiot now?" The Ranger dropped his weapon back into it's holster and summoned his Silverizer. He quickly extended it's saber and struck down another Tengu with a shower of sparks. As the corridor began to fill with foot soldiers, the two Rangers went back to back to continue fighting them - trying to keep them drawn away from the Glider's attached cable.

"You, still, if you think we are all gonna fit on that stupid surfboard! I'm surprised that buffoon and his friend haven't brought it down themselves!" Nico had began swinging her baton wildly, like a bat, with both hands. Those foot soldiers that were not smart enough to avoid it were quickly brought to the ground.

The hallway shook from the weight of heavy steps - the crackled green and black rock surface of Ecliptor's face smiled at them from under the last functioning light bulb. He stood for a moment, adjusting the grip he held on his saber. He seemed to be focusing entirely on the Silver Ranger, watching him as he fought.

"Who is that ugly fella?" The Wild Force Ranger continued her wild, two-handed assault on the approaching wave of creatures. She watched the smiling creature step out of the light, vanishing in the pitch black. She knew that when he emerged from the darkness he would be upon them.

"I don't know, but he looks too happy to see us. Get up to that Glider!" The swarm of foot soldiers tightened around them. Kit slashed at one while holding another at bay with his other hand. With every strike, sparks exploded forth and an enemy fell. It just seemed as if there were then two more to replace them.

The Silver Ranger began to feel hands pulling at his limbs - downed soldiers grasping at his legs while others pulled and pushed against his shoulders. The darkness of the enemies around him seemed to meld with the pitch black of the corridor. It seemed that every inch illuminated in front of his visor was a Puttie, a Cog, or a Tengu - or all three. He flailed the Silverizer wildly, seeming to do harm to some of them even as the rest of them blocked out his view of Nico.

The White Ranger had made her way to the rope, hoping that the path she fought to make herself was enough for the both of them to get through. As her left hand grabbed it and she brought up her first booted foot and began to climb, she chanced a quick glance behind her.

She could barely see the illumination from the Silver Ranger's helmet through the thick crowd of enemies. They had even started pushing and clawing at each other, just fighting for the opportunity to get within striking distance of the Ranger.

Nico felt a tug at her own boot and looked down to see that she, too, had company. A growing crowd of Putties and Tengu fought for the chance to climb up the rope after her.

An energy blast erupted from above her, starting the girl and the foot soldiers around her. The tow cable below her - the gliders only connection to the space station - was blasted apart. She looked up and saw a small puff of smoke drifting from the tip of Rex's Blade Blaster.

"What are you doing!?" The young woman yelled up at the Black Ranger even as a pair of Cogs grabbed the charred bottom of the rope and began pulling the Glider downwards. The closest group of Putties grabbed their Cog friends and began to put their own weight behind the pull. The rope - with Nico on it - was involved in a tug of war between the foot soldiers and the Glider itself.

"If we don't leave him, none of us will survive." Rex spoke calmly, despite the mess of activity swarming around him. He had the upper part of his body extended off the side the Glider, with his legs and feet at rest on the board with Dia. He took aim and fired another shot, taking out another creature fighting to pull them back down.

Even before the Black Ranger had finished speaking, Nico knew that he was right. She turned and saw that the cracked, red-eye creature had emerged from the dark.

"Zhane! Oh Zhaney boy, where are you!?" Ecliptor swung his blade carelessly, slicing ally after ally with each move. He did not care. He had only revenge on his mind. The foot soldiers slowly started separating, clearing a bath for the warrior to reach his intended target.

"How did I get so lucky!? I thought I would have to hunt for my old friend Andros! All I'll have to do is make him come running for you!" Ecliptor batted the last of the Cogs and Putties away with his arm and knelt down next to the Ranger. Kit swung his left arm - still clutching his Silverizer - and slashed at the monster's shoulder. The green and black creature vanished just before the blade touched him. The Ranger's attack swung powerfully through nothing but air.

"Come on, you'll have to be quicker than that!"

Kit looked up and Ecliptor had reappeared standing above him, towering over his head. He pointed his sword at the Silver Ranger's neck and pressed it's point forward, slightly.

"Let me see your face, Zhane. It's been far too long." Ecliptor smiled his twisted, cracked grin once again. Behind him, Gasket and Archerina had arrived with Thrax just behind them. The three of them watched the scene quietly, afraid to interrupt what was obviously an important moment for the creature.

"Why don't you quit rambling that nonsense, crack-face!?"

Nico's Tiger Baton sailed through the air, following the words she had directed at Ecliptor. For a moment, a spark of hope appeared within Kit's chest as the baton sailed towards the creature above him. It moved impossibly fast, so fast that it seemed unlikely Ecliptor could deflect it.

They were all blinded, briefly, by a flash of lightning that filled the whole corridor with white light. The baton was struck and the lightning momentarily gripped it - swinging it around before smashing it into the wall uselessly. As it clattered to the floor, it vanished in it's own white light.

The White Ranger looked up and saw a giant, damaged-looking creature holding a large silver staff towards her fallen weapon. Thrax smiled and began walking towards her, tired of staying on the sidelines. The Silver Ranger seemed to be Ecliptor's only focus, and he did not intend to let the other monster take all the credit for defeating the Rangers.

"Come down and play!" Thrax held up his father's staff a second time and more power crackle around it, charging it with power. Before he had a chance to unleash the attack on Nico, the Black Ranger above her had had enough.

Dragging his line of fire all across the crowd of beasts holding on to the rope, Rex squeezed the trigger on his blaster and did not let up. A series of red lasers blasts shot forward - burning through the limbs and hands of the monsters below.

The rope was released and the whole thing - Glider, rope, and Rangers - was pulled straight out into space immediately. A single confused Tengu warrior cried out as the rope wrapped around it's feathered arm ripped it off of the ground and after them.

The last thing Nico saw before she was sent into space was Ecliptor removing Kit's helmet and crying out, throwing it aside. Then, her vision was consumed with only the spiraling blackness of space and the peppering of stars.


	15. Hiro

Ninjor's secret home on Earth looked like the old Command Center and his own Temple of Power had been combined together to form it.

The towering cement structure in the middle of the desert was carved deeply into the side of a hill. It's subbasements and storage areas seemed to extend further than physically possible into the desert floor.

Inside, on the main level of the sub basement, Tommy sat in one of the comfortable command chairs around a large metal plate built into the floor. Ninjor and Billy fidgeted with all sorts of dials and switches and sliders on the outskirts of the room, occasionally consulting each other for assistance.

"I hope this works. How long have you had this base out here?" Tommy looked over to his android warrior friend, then went back to checking out the advanced technology all around them.

"When we said we were going to retire the Morphers, I knew this day would come. I'm sorry I did not tell you earlier, Tommy. In those days it was difficult to tell who could be trusted." Ninjor stopped messing with the control board in front of him and turned to face his ally.

"I hope that it works, too. It appears to be online, and not a moment too soon. I sense that our new heroes are in grave danger." Ninjor looked over at Billy as he seemed to be putting the finishing touches on his own work.

"It should work. As long as they're outside the prison, they should be within range of the teleportation matrix." Billy spoke while turning the last few dials to the appropriate position. He then turned and sat down in the empty seat next to Tommy.

The whole situation had only gotten more confusing - somehow, Ninjor had sensed that a new team of Rangers had assembled themselves and were doing battle on the in orbit prison above KO-35. He had no reliable way of showing or explaining this to the two humans, but he said he was absolutely certain that were about to escape and would need rescuing.

"Without Communicators, the process will be uncomfortable. But they should make it in one piece." As Billy finished speaking, the ground beneath their seats began to pulse with a deep vibration.

Just as the three of them turned to face the middle of the metal plate, the air in the room crackled with electric power. The smell of burning filled the air briefly as four separate shapes of color burst into existence. Two of the shapes were white, one of them was black, and the other was bright red.

The Rangers were not the only things brought into the room, however. As they materialized, the Silver Glider accompanied them. The vehicles engines filled the large room with a screaming mechanical whir as both the black and red Rangers were thrown from it. The Nico's flailing body trailed behind it for a second, still gripping the rowing cable. She had already been screaming as they had been flown through space. Her screams intensified as she released the rope and crumpled into the pile of other Rangers.

The Silver Glider smashed into the thick concrete ceiling and then fell to the floor next to them. The hum of it's engines grew quieter as it's life faded from it.

Tommy and Billy had both stood immediately as the commotion had started. Both of them approached the fallen Rangers without hesitation.

"Stay back!" The Black Ranger had somehow managed to keep a hold of his Blade Blaster, and he turned it on the two old men. He pulled the trigger without waiting to see if either of the men would obey him.

In a quick motion that looked almost like he had teleported as well, Ninjor put himself in front of the energy blast. It hit his outstretched hand and seemed to be absorbed by it.

"Let's be a little more careful with our new toys, Rex!" The ninja used the seconds of surprise he had brought to the other man to step forward and remove the blaster from his hand quickly.

"How do you know my name!?" Rex slumped downwards as he was disarmed, assuming a protective crouch over Dia, still unconscious inside her own Ranger suit. He still felt plenty of his new Ranger strength flowing through his veins. He was confident that even this mysterious robot would have been an easy opponent for him. Whether or not he could continue to protect his friend while doing battle was a completely different story.

"Are we ... dead?" As Nico pushed herself up off of the metal floor and out of the tangle of limbs that she and Dia had briefly become, the Ranger suit protecting her dissipated. Suddenly, the aches and pains of battle that had been slight annoyances before became much worse. She blinked and gave one quick, confused glance at the men around her before collapsing back to the ground.

The group of men watched as the pink-haired girl curled herself into the fetal position on the floor. She seemed to be made of one gigantic bruise and her hair was sticking up in all sorts of ridiculous angles.

"Billy, we must get them to the healing chambers!" Ninjor ducked down and picked the girl up quickly, his analytical systems scanning her over for any serious injuries.

For a moment, it looked as if Rex was going to try and stop the android as he picked the girl up. His right hand tightened into a fist and the muscles in his legs tensed up, ready to launch himself upward in order to reach the blue warrior's face. He hesitated for a second, and then released his fist. He did not know why he felt such a connection with Nico, but he knew that it was not strong enough to take his full focus off Dia - not until she had recovered, anyway.

"Listen, man. I know this is all confusing. Trust me, it's confusing for us too. You just need to trust us right now." Tommy stepped forward, careful to remain out of the Black Ranger's reach in case he did not want to listen to him. The man turned and seemed to stare at him from behind his visor. He turned and looked Billy over as well, before turning his eyes back to Ninjor.

"Did you say something about a healing chamber?" Rex reached up and touched the side of his helmet. Instantly, his dark visor glowed and then vanished. He fought hard to not let his fear show in his face as he locked eyes with Tommy.

"My friend here needs some serious help."

* * *

Kit paced anxiously around his cell, trying desperately to formulate some sort of plan. Still morphed, but with his helmet removed and set aside on the floor near the door, he was still powerless to escape his cell. The clear energy shield gateway was designed to keep even the most powerful of monsters trapped behind it, and he had had no luck disarming it.

Outside the cell, the higher-ranking villains seemed to be working out a plan of their own. Ecliptor had taken charge and had a loose group of powerful monsters around him to form a sort of ruling class over the rest of them.

"Quickly, before any Rangers can return, we need to retake KO-35." Ecliptor looked around at his gathered group and spoke calmly, "Once we have extended our control to the planet's surface, the rest of you can decide where to take over next. I will wait here for Andros to come save the day. Once he is defeated, I will decide where to take my conquests next."

The group seemed to agree wholeheartedly, none of them having an arguments against further violence and more extreme takeovers. Each of them had their own specific vendettas and missions to accomplish, but one thing unified them all - they would not go back into their cells willingly. Taking over the galaxy was just the easiest way to ensure that they all remained free.

Before Ecliptor could continue, three figures entered the corridor. Finster and his old ally Baboo proudly dragged a young man behind them. The man had long dark hair and was dressed entirely in black. He did not struggle against his captors. Instead, he stared forward - dead eyed and resigned.

"We found another one!" Baboo spoke before the other creature had a chance to, hoping to earn himself some praise from his new leader.

"Well, I found another one. Baboo is just helping me move him." Finster stated matter-of-factly, with an eye roll. The pair of them placed the man in front of Ecliptor and pushed him forward. His legs crumpled beneath him and he slumped forward.

"I may have given too much sleepy potion." Baboo added with a slight giggle, watching as the man's eyes wobbled uncontrollably from one side to other in their sockets.

"Who is this?" Ecliptor groaned. He wasn't interested in more humans - they had one captured already, and he wasn't even sure if he would be worth anything. The Silver Ranger certainly wasn't the human he had hoped for. He could only hope that Andros would be interested in saving this boy, as well. He waved his two servants away and knelt down next to the man, leaning on his sword as he did. One black-and-green arm reached out and firmly gripped the man's hair, drawing his head up so that he could take a better look.

"Apparently he is a dangerous prisoner, like us! We asked around and no one seems to know what he is here for, but they know he was locked up like the rest of us." Finster's eyes were lit up with excitement. He wasn't sure if capturing the man had even been the right thing to do, but he could tell just by how his boss was treating him that it had been.

"My name.. Is Hiro. Hiro Armada." The young man's eyes suddenly straightened out for a moment and locked with the glowing red of Ecliptor's. He spoke calmly, and then spit loudly in the creature's face.

The whole room instantly quieted, thick with tension. They all stared intently at their new leader, wondering how extreme his reaction would be. Ecliptor had already established himself as quite brutal - and such a sign of disrespect was surely a death sentence.

A deep rumble began in Ecliptor's chest and, as he pulled his head back and faced it up, it turned out to be his own twisted form of laughter. He released the man's hair but made no move to wipe the spit from his face. Instead, his laughter intensified for a moment and he roared it towards the ceiling. Then, he grabbed the man by the front of his dark robes and lifted him into the air.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Hiro Armada. I'm Ecliptor and this prison is now my battle station. I don't know why you are here, or who you think you are, but let us get one thing straight - I could kill you right now, with ease. No one would be surprised, and it would require no effort. Keep that in mind in the future. For now, your act of defiance has impressed me. I will spare your life. For now." Ecliptor swung the man's body around as he turned and walked towards the already-occupied cell.

"You got it, boss!" Elgar stood waiting at the edge of the cell. His card sword was buried hilt-deep within the computer panel on the wall. He turned and twisted the hilt, which in turn deactivated the cell's gate for a moment.

Kit briefly considered trying to run, but knew that it would do him no good. The corridor outside - and the prison beyond it - was absolutely full of monsters. Even if he could somehow slip away from Ecliptor, it wouldn't take long for him to be recaptured. He reached down and picked up his Ranger helmet with a sigh and backed away from the gate as the shield disappeared.

Hiro landed roughly on the ground next to the Silver Ranger, and whatever small amount of strength he had been using to stay away left him instantly. His head dropped to the floor, his eyes rolled back, and he drifted off...


	16. Survival Mode

Rex stood over his friend with his arms crossed. His eyes drifted across the various screens and sensors set up around her every few seconds, just to check on the progress of her healing. Next to him, Nico stared at the older woman as well.

Dia already looked much, much better than she had just a few minutes earlier. Color had returned to her face as it had quickly filled out again, the bones that were formerly broken seeming to rearrange themselves beneath her skin.

"What do you think off all this?" Nico spoke to the man for the first time. She had kept close to him since waking up, but had remained quiet. She didn't really feel comfortable trusting him, yet. Being suddenly pulled into this place by a group of strangers had definitely helped her warm up to her once-enemy.

"I do not know what to think." Rex's heavily accented voice sounded tired - finally worn down from a long, long day. Dia's recovery definitely gave him more energy, but he knew that he would need to rest soon.

He looked down to the Morpher in his hand, studying it for a second. It was hard to take it all in. A giant blue robot ninja had transported them to Earth from the emptiness of space, seemingly saving their lives. Shortly after their arrival, he had told them that they were destined to be there - together - as a team. They they were a somehow _meant_ to come together and become a new group of Power Rangers.

"It will take time, Rangers. But I assure you, destiny makes no mistakes!" Ninjor was standing behind the pair at an awkwardly close distance. His booming voice made Rex's muscles tense up. He saw Nico give a jump out of the corner of his eye, as well.

"For now let's just concentrate on getting your friend better, then we can go over what is next." Tommy stood at the back of the room next to Billy. The two of them had kept their distance from the newcomers - taking everything in but not involving themselves too much, yet. They both knew from experience that in due time, the new Rangers would begin to accept their fate.

"We... should go over what's next, then." Dia's eyes opened for a second and then blinked several times. Her voice was hoarse but powerful and firm - she seemed to have at least some of her regular stamina back. She sat up slowly as the rest of the room exchanged shocked glances.

"Dia.. You need to sit back." Rex stepped forward and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. He was completely shocked at her ability to even speak. Just moments earlier, he had wondered if the woman would even be able to survive her injuries. Now she was attempting to stand up! The healing technology that was being used seemed to be far more advanced than anything he had seen previously.

"No, I'm fine. A little sore, but - don't touch me." Dia pushed away the man's hand and swung her legs around the side of the table, putting herself into a sitting position. The bruises around her eyes were still there - lighter than before, but still visible.

"I heard your conversation. About us being Rangers. I have more than a couple of questions."

Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen.

Kit watched and counted as his cell mate began working through push ups once again, likely his tenth set in the last hour. The man completely refused to speak to the Silver Ranger, and instead seemed entirely focused on putting himself through as much vigorous exercise as he possibly could.

"Look, man. We are never gonna make it out of here unless we get some kind of plan together." Kit wanted to roll his eyes at his own words. If Hiro knew about how the last twenty-four hours of his life had been, he would have no reason to think that they could ever make it out. Between acquiring the DigiMorpher and ending up in the cell, Kit had been beaten up and held against his will multiple times. At this point, being a Ranger felt like more of a curse than anything else.

Hiro rotated his head to look up at the other man as he lowered himself to the ground once again. His dark hair hung in sweaty scraggles from his head - long enough to touch the ground as his head grew closer to it. He had not removed a single article of clothing before beginning his work-out routine. Wearing a jet-black hooded robe, completely with military-style combat boots and gloves, he definitely didn't appear to be dressed for the occasion. He studied Kit throughout the next push-up, and then looked away once again without saying a word.

Kit sighed and sat back, anxiously tapping his fingers against his removed helmet. Every second they remained seemed like a second wasted. The corridor outside was empty - Ecliptor and his gang had went out in search of a room large enough to address their large - and growing - army of monsters. Any prisoner that had somehow remained in their cell during the uprising had been freed, and the monsters all had one thing in common - they wanted as far away from the prison as possible.

"Alright, stupid humans. Time for dinner!" Elgar's voice came out of a small speaker installed in the wall near the doorway. A second later, he stepped into view in front of the cell gate. He carried two prison-issue plates with what looked like a piece of old, moldy bread on each of them. The monster reached up and twisted his sword - still embedded in the control panel outside the cell - and the energy gate deactivated with a slight whine.

Almost as soon as the creature made his first step into the cell, Hiro was upon him. The young man shot up from his push-up position - a black blur travelling the distance between them almost instantly. His knee made contact with Elgar's face with a sharp crack, and the moldy bread and trays clattered to the floor. Before the creature could even react, Hiro had dropped down into a crouched position and swept his legs out from under him. As he crashed to the ground, the young man quickly lifted one of the trays up and slammed it into Elgar's face.

Kit had stood up without realizing it and was already replacing his helmet on his head, walking towards the open gate. He didn't know who the other man was, or why he wasn't speaking, but he liked him already.

As he reached the corridor, the Silver Ranger turned and glanced down the hallway in each direction. The sensors in his helmet did not seem to pick up any life-forms near them, except for Elgar - who was now slumped over, unconscious, on the cell floor.

Hiro followed him with incredible speed, once again a black blur against the bright florescent prison lights. He wordlessly walked over to where Elgar's sword cut into the wall. With a quick twist, the cell gate reactivated - sealing the creature inside. The man placed a second hand against the wall and slid the blade - made entirely of cards - from it's place. A small splash of sparks followed it from the control panel as he turned and made his way down the corridor.

"Hey, wait for me!" Kit held out his hand at his side and once again conjured up his Silverizer, activating it's blade mode as he jogged to catch up with the other man. He had never seen anyone move like Hiro just had - seeming inhuman in his speed and in the way that his body seemed to bend and fold at strange angles as it moved. The movements made him uneasy, but the fact that the other man had allowed him to exit the cell as well was

 _Let me... I'm the Power Ranger here!_ Kit thought to himself as he followed the man. He hadn't been the Silver Ranger for long, but he was beginning to feel more comfortable in the suit. An unarmed human, at this point, would be little more than an annoyance against him in a fight. Something about Hiro, though, seemed different..

The Silver Ranger's boots loudly scuffed against the floor as he struggled to stop himself. Caught up in his thoughts, he had not noticed that is companion had stopped at the next corner and held out his arm to stop him, as well. Kit brought both of his arms up, instinctively blocking his face, and then fell backwards to the corridor floor.

"What's going - " He looked up angrily at Hiro as his Silverizer was sent skittering into the next corridor. The young man had quickly raised a single finger to his mouth, matching Kit's glare with his own. The Ranger quieted, quickly moving onto his feet and following Hiro's gaze.

A large, mixed group of Tengu and Putties had stopped dead in their tracks just a few yards from the corner the pair hid behind. The group, numbering a dozen or more, looked as if they likely would have kept walking if Kit's weapon had not hit the ground and slid loudly across it.

Kit turned, starting to consider an attack plan in his head. He grabbed the Astro Blaster from his belt and fired off shots quickly, racing forward in hopes of getting the Silverizer before they could reach it. He turned to look over his shoulder at Hiro while he ran, but saw that the man had seemed to vanish completely.

The front two Tengu were lifted off of their feet in an explosion of sparks as Hiro appeared in front of them - dragging the Card Saber across both of them with a wide swing. As they were thrown backwards, the young man jumped into the air and delivered a powerful kick to the Putty behind them. As he landed it, he instantly began to engage the closest foot soldiers too him - throwing himself into the crowd of them.

Kit was shocked at the other man's bravery, and shocked once again my his speed and skills. He fired of two more blasts of energy from his blaster, picking off a couple of the enemies at the edge of the group.

In just a second, Hiro had somehow destroyed all of them. He stood, quietly gulping air and staring forward, as a rain of feathers and bits of clay fell around him. Without looking back to see if Kit would follow, he took off down the corridor - once again seemingly consumed by his mission.

Kit grabbed his Silverizer and continued after the warrior, even more unsettled by his seemingly great powers..


End file.
